Dododex

ARK: Survival Evolved & Ascended Companion

The Arks: Over Heaven (by Ben)

Chapter 63: Looking for Chris! Promise Keeper Ben Dies on the Battlefield!

Original Post Date: May 5, 2024

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

~

“Finally I’m out of that swamp,” Ben muttered to himself as he emerged from foul darkness into the light. The sun shone brightly on his face, and the grass was green and healthy, rustling back and forth with the slight wind current. Ben felt his heart thump against his chest softly, and the vines that covered his arms fell off. Ben let out a sigh of relief, and he sat down on the soft grass.

Off in the distance, south a few miles was the red Obelisk. Its glow radiated across the plains biome distinctly, casting an evil shine onto the grass. Ben would travel there soon to search for Chris. Perhaps he had gone out of his way to investigate the Obelisk… and had gotten himself into trouble. Whether it be with the Obelisk itself or nature, Ben was not sure.

“I shouldn’t create any more plants for the next 24 hours,” Ben thought to himself, “Especially not in a fight. I need to conserve my energy. I still have a long way back.”

“Hey, you!” an unfamiliar voice cried out. Ben’s head jolted around and he saw three women approach him. They wore red cloth armor and each one carried either a spear, bow, or club. Trotting behind them was a large beast with small feathers trailing from its head to its back. It was a light purplish-gray and groggily walked up behind them, carrying a saddle on its back. The Megalosaurus looked up at Ben with dull eyes.

“Who are they, and how do they know how to tame creatures?” Ben asked himself. Ben got up from the ground, and the one with the bow instantly aimed at Ben.

“Ah ah ah! Stay right there, young man! No sudden movements…” the one with the club sneered. Ben grumbled to himself in annoyance, locked in place and staring on at the three of them.

“Damn it! Who the hell are these people and why did they have to confront me at this time?” Ben cursed in his head. He glanced over at the Megalosaurus. Its eyelids were getting droopy, but its eyes fluttered open every few seconds, looking around alert.

The one with the spear whispered to the one with the club, and Ben squinted his eyes at the two of them, trying to figure out what they were saying.

“He… Matches… Description,” Ben managed to figure out what the one with the spear was saying. Ben’s eyes wandered to the one with the bow. She winced, and her hands seemed to be shaking. Ben looked her in the eyes, but before Ben could get a good read, she looked away.

“Hey, what’s your name, boy!” the one with the club asked. Ben let out a sneer.

“What kind of question is that? It’s Ben, obviously!”

The two girls’ eyes lit up, and Ben felt his heart drop.

They were looking for him for whatever reason.

“Well Ben you better surrender to us! Hands in the air, or we’ll shoot! If you try to run, we’ll shoot! If you manage to run, we’ll shoot! Or we’ll just let Sleepyhead over here eat you. Your choice!”

“What other choice do I have?” Ben wondered, “There’s three of them, and they have a dinosaur. Plus I’m not ready to use my power yet.”

Ben raised his hands in the air.

The two girls smirked, and walked forward. The one with the bow winced again. The one with the spear looked back and nodded her head toward Ben.

“Come on, Patricia. No reason to be scared, we’ve got him!”

“R-Right. Sorry Lizzy.”

“It’s okay… All that matters is we’ve got him!”

The one with the club reached for her belt as she approached Ben, taking out a pair of handcuffs. Ben stepped back, and she gave a distasteful look to Ben.

“Don’t think about it. We aren’t going to kill you or anything. Our boss is only looking for you and wants to have a ‘talk’, that’s all.”

“Layla, remember what she told us. No handcuffs, she wants him to be as comfortable as possible,” Lizzy reminded her. Ben raised his eyebrow.

“What? What does their leader want from me?” Ben pondered. Layla chuckled, and put her handcuffs back on her belt.

“Heh heh, whoops. Forgot about that. Alright, we don’t want you doing anything crazy, so we’re just gonna have you walk ahead of us. And uh, with a bow pointed at your head. No hard feelings!”

Ben stood there for a moment. Patricia lowered her bow, and Sleepyhead the Megalosaurus was still groggily standing to the side, staring at Ben hungrily. For a minute or so, they just stood there, staring at each other, until finally Layla began to tap her foot against the ground in annoyance.

“Okay, any day now!”

An idea suddenly struck Ben. Ben gasped, and pointed at the air.

“Woah, a bee!”

“Huh? Where?” Layla asked. All three girls looked at where Ben was pointing. Ben made a mad dash for it, leaving the three scouts in the dust.

“What the? Hey, where’d he- GET HIM!”

Ben swung his arms back and forth, panting heavily as he sprinted for his freedom.

“OMG I can’t believe they fell for that!” Ben thought to himself happily.

Wizz!!! Pluck!

Ben felt his heart drop as an arrow pierced his heel, and he collapsed to the grass. Ben let out a groan, and loud pounding footsteps approached. Boom! Boom! Boom! Ben turned around and saw Sleepyhead open her jaws. She bit at Ben, but Ben quickly rolled to the side.

“Hey, hey hey hey stop Sleepyhead! We can’t let her kill him!” Lizzy cried out.

“Sleepyhead! Stop that! NOW!” Layla screamed. Layla shot a sneer at Patricia.

“Why’d you shoot him? If he dies, ALL OF US will be killed! Let him run and we can always get him later!”

“I’m sorry-”

Ben couldn’t bother listening in on their argument. He weaved and dodged Sleepyhead’s quick and swift attacks. Disoriented and drowsy, she didn’t seem much to coordinate her attacks. As Ben weaved from another bite, he slammed his fist into Sleepyhead’s eye. Sleepyhead let out a cry of pain, backing away and screeching like a banshee.

Ben felt blood drip down his shoe, and he grabbed the shaft of the arrow and snapped it off.

“Emergencies only,” Ben reminded himself. Vines ensnared his foot, patching up the wound. Ben quickly got up from the ground, but not before feeling a sharp blade cut away at his throat.

SLASH!

Ben’s eyes wavered, and they began to quiver as he felt blood drip down his neck. He grabbed at his throat, and looked on in horror to see Lizzy clutching onto a bloodied spear. She seemed just as terrified as him.

“LIZZY!” Layla roared, “What have you DONE?!”

Lizzy was speechless. Ben’s vision clouded, and his mind began to go haywire. He found himself struggling to breathe. He turned away and made a run for it again.

Into the deep forest, Ben trampled bushes and flowers alike. His legs began to get weaker, and his memory getting fuzzier. With one final push, he collapsed to the ground.

~

“No no no, he can’t be dead!” Layla screamed. The three scouts rushed into the forest, searching every bush and hiding spot for the fatally wounded man.

“If we can find him on time, maybe we can bring him back and-” Layla paused as she stared at the base of a tree’s trunk.

“No no no no,” Layla muttered.

Sitting at the base of the tree was Ben, his head hung low and a clear cut on his neck. Blood seeped down onto his black graduation robe, which was getting more and more bloodier. His implant was completely dim.

Patricia quickly put her index finger and middle finger on Ben’s neck. There was no pulse.

Ben was dead.

“Patricia, please tell me he’s alive,” Layla muttered.

Patricia didn’t respond. She got up from the ground.

“We have to go back.”

“And what then? June will KILL us! You know how much she loves this guy! She talks about him and dreams about him every day and night. And we can’t lie our way out of it, General Wyvern will just sniff us out!” Layla shouted. Lizzy began to cry and sob, and tears trailed down her face.

“I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry… I didn’t want this to happen…”

“We have to return, there’s nowhere else for us to go. We can’t survive on our own, can we?” Layla whispered, hopeless.

“We can’t,” Patricia said. She hooked her bow on her back, “Let’s go.”

Patricia was the first to depart. Then, Layla. Lizzy looked at Ben one last time. He looked really peaceful. Was that how death felt? Some form of regret hung in his lifeless eyes though. Lizzy could never be sure.

She turned around, and walked away, sniffling and wiping away at her face.

…

Bum. Bum. Bum. Bum. Bum. Bum.

Bum.