Dododex

ARK: Survival Evolved & Ascended Companion

The Terrible Demise Of Tortuga

Chapter four: New acquaintances

-By SunnyFox57

(Originally released sometime in January, 2024. Now rewritten and reposted January 10th, 2026)

The sun’s orange light is what woke Emma up. It practically blinded her as it made its way through a crack in the blinds, towards her face, almost as if targeting her eyes specifically. The sound of Jack’s snores drifted through the walls of the house but she drowned it out easily by pressing her face into the pillow deeply. Aaron’s words and even the mayors’ about the punishment platforms in the center of the city made her gut feel heavy.

“You know, with all those freaks running around.”, the mayors’ had said. What was that supposed to mean? Did they just mean people in general who disobeyed their rules or..what? Her parents had seemed to know what they meant but yet they hadn’t elaborated. Aragorn had looked ready to throttle both mayors at that one simple remark. Where her parents hiding something? She knew they were secretive. Most people are. But her parents…were different. A lot different, compared to other people. They were prone to lying, whether intentional or not.

Much as she tried to forget, she could still remember the nights where horrendous screaming and crashing and then eventually hysterical sobbing would echo from their room every night. She’d asked her mother about it once but Arianna only dismissed it. Said that Emma had been tired. And maybe she had been, she hadn’t heard anything like that ever again. But she could still remember it clearly.

“Kids! Breakfast! Get up!” Arianna calls suddenly, her words punctuated by the sounds of dishes and silverware clinking together as they’re set on the table for breakfast. Emma unceremoniously rolls out of her bed, feet hitting the floor with a soft thump. She patters over to the open box in the corner of the room that holds her few belongings, ruffling through it to find a outfit. She settles on a white blouse and blue pants.

As she finishes slipping into them, a silver ornament on thin chain slips out from around her neck, falling to the floor with a clatter. Emma lets out a soft gasp and snatches it back up. The clasp had unlatched on the back of it. It was the first time that the necklace, a medallion, had been off of her neck since her father had given it. Her whole family had one, except for Arianna. “It’s for…protection.” Aragorn had said. He hadn’t elaborated further than that. She’d been twelve whenever she’d got hers and honestly hadn’t bothered to question it. Looking back on it now it sounded rather stupid. What was a small medallion supposed to help protect? Her father didn’t seem like the type to believe in good luck charms.

Without the ornament around her neck, no matter how small it looked, it felt like a huge weight had been removed from her shoulders. A noose of sorts, choking her. Well, maybe not that dramatic. But it definitely felt like it had been holding her back. Like it was. She was half-tempted to not put it back on but her father’s words the day she’d gotten it, lingered in the back of her throat like the smell of smoke.

So she clamped it back on, letting it rest proudly against her chest in plain sight and headed downstairs for breakfast.

The twins and Josephina were already seated at the table, as well as Aragorn who was pouring himself another cup of coffee. Several of the boxes that had been left unopened in the main rooms of the house were now gone, their contents unboxed and most the furniture was set up. Emma slid into the seat beside Josephina.

“When did you find the time to put up the furniture?” She asks her parents.

“Your father did it this morning.” Arianna says, scooting the food filled plates to their designated people. Emma furrows her eyebrows in confusion.

“When did you have time to do that?”

Aragorn shrugs casually, sipping his coffee. “Was up early and decided to get things done. I doubt we’ll have time during the rest of the next days to unbox anyways. Me and your mother have to find jobs.”

“Huh. That sounds boring. What will we be doing?” Jack says around a mouthful of food.

“Stop talking with food in your mouth.” Jay reprimands his twin.

Arianna sits down with her plate beside Aragorn at the table.

“It’s hard work, son. Something you’re going to have to understand sooner or later. Not all work is interesting but you have to pay your bills someway.” Their father says.

Everyone stops talking, focusing on clearing their plates. Emma watches her parents carefully. Their hands were intertwined, as always. Sometimes she thought that they were permanently that way. Arianna was constantly looking for ways to ground her husband.

Finally they all finished eating and Arianna stands, taking their plates one by one. “So what will we be doing?” Jay asks.

“Well, I suppose you should get acquainted with some of the kids here. We’re going to live here now, after all. Might as well make some new friends.” Arianna says. Jack ducks her hand as she goes to smooth his messy locks, while passing by.

“Do we have to? Couldn’t we just stay here? Most of them will just think we’re weird.” He frowns.

“Everyone already probably does.” Emma says, leaning back in her chair. Josephina climbs unto Aragorn’s seat, settling down on one of his knees, reaching her chubby hands upward to tug at his ringlets of hair.

“Yeah exactly. So what’s the point? Why go out at all? Logically it just sound stupid.” Jay adds.

“Don’t talk back to your mother.” Aragorn frowns, flinching suddenly as his younger daughter in his lap reaches up and abruptly yanks several threads of his hair out.

Jack and Jay heave a sigh in almost exact unison that Emma can’t quite tell which one on their strange brainwave had the idea to exhale first.

“Surely you’ve done it before, dad. Isn’t it a bit ridiculous to tell your not to do things that you did as a kid?” Jack folds his arms.

Their father’s eyebrows raise slightly in amusement, while attempting to pry Josephina’s hands away from his hair. “Make friends? Of course i made friends. How do you think I first met your mother? We didn’t fall in love immediately.”

Jay wrinkles his nose. “No no ew dad, no! He meant, talking back to your mother. Didn’t you talk back to your mother as a kid?”

Aragorn snorts. “That’s isn’t the point. Twisting me or your mother’s words will not persuade us from changing our minds.”

Arianna walks around the table again.

“Besides, you can’t necessarily control what people think of you. You can only control yourself.” She says. “In this day and age, as it is in every century, people often judge you by your appearance or speech. Unless you choose to share your motifs and/or get to know them, their judgment of you will always remain the same. Not that their judgment matters, but if you want people to..not think you’re weird, you could start by getting to know them.”

~

And so with that concluded, the Peterson children finish up with breakfast and head out. Out to where…they weren’t really sure. It was almost if Arianna thought that they’d suddenly come across a herd of young people like themselves at random.

“Up, up, up!” Josephina insists in her tiny shrill voice, releasing her older sister’s hand to latch into Jack’s leg. “Pretty please, Jack?? I want to be taller!”

The aforementioned gazes down at the small child and let out a prolonged exaggerated sigh. “Alright, alright. I can’t promise it’ll look any better from up here.” He bends down briefly and Josephina clambers onto his shoulders, steadying herself by wrapping her arms round his neck.

“I do feel sorry for your poor old back, Jack.” Jay sighs, shaking his head slightly in a mock sad manner as he watches his twin stand once more. I wouldn’t be surprised if you get a early onslaught of back problems just from carrying that child on your shoulders.”

Emma scoffs. “Jay, Josephina is six years old. She is not that heavy. Not to mention, you two are only thirteen. If anyone should be having back problems it certainly wouldn’t be Jack.”

They finally reach the city square. It looked the exact same as before whenever they’d first been given the tour, except for the fact that there were people talking and walking and passing by, on their ways to work or whatever business they had to attend to at this hour.

They huddle together by the large stands in the center. “Well, what do we do now? We’re here aren’t we?” Jay sighs.

Emma rubs the back of her neck, glancing about. All the people around made her feel slightly uncomfortable. Like they were being watched from all sides. And perhaps they were. “Jeez, this was such a bad idea.”

“Are you lost?” A voice sounds. The Petersons all jump in unison. A girl stands before them, chestnut hair wrapped in a tight braid, hanging down her back. It bounces slightly every time she tilts her head curiously, which is incredibly often at the moment. Her eyes are a wide set blue color.

She extends her hand quicker than Emma would have thought possible, grasping it tightly and shaking it. “Hi! I’m Elizabeth Baker! Pleasure to meet you. You’re the new kids right? I thought so. I’ve never seen you before and I know everyone in this town. Not to mention, you look more lost than my dad when my cousin hid his glasses. Where are you all going? Do you know? Are you wandering? Am I talking too much. Sorry, my mom says I talk too much. Actually, I’m not sorry but it’s apparently important to let other people talk. Which I don’t necessarily understand since I didn’t interrupt anyone.”

The best response that any of the Petersons can come up with to this sudden floor of questions is rapid blinking.

Elizabeth barks out a laugh at their confusion, tilting her head to the side. “Ya’ll are funny. Anyways, as I was saying, are you guys lost?”

“Yes. Well, no. We know where we are. We’re just lost in the sense that we don’t know where to go. Our mom wanted us to go out and meet and get to know people, you see.” Emma explains. She already likes Elizabeth, despite just meeting the curious girl. She talked a lot, yes, but she seemed friendly enough.

“Ah, I see.” The girl bounced a bit on her heels excitedly. “If you like…I can take you to meet some of the other kids of the city! There’s not a lot, but most of them are pretty friendly, I swear.”

“That would be nice, I suppose...”

~

Elizabeth led them down the narrow streets branching off the city square, continuing to chatter happily along the way. She pointed out landmarks enthusiastically as they went along, despite knowing that they’d already been given a full blown tour by the mayors. Still, the Petersons didn’t mind. Most of what she said wasn’t about the history of the place, and was instead comments about the people living there or the appearance of the place. There was the bakery which apparently belonged to her father. There was “Lois’ General Goods” that hadn’t been refurnished in what seemed like centuries and apparently smelled like someone died in there. There was the lighthouse, that oversaw everything going on in the city, and beyond it. There was the school, taught by Ms Clara Hawkthorne that was the only building make entirely out of thin wood slats. And so on and on.

“Well, here we are! This is the gang!” Elizabeth announced finally, gesturing ahead with both hands as if presenting a grand reveal. The young strangers in front of them were all gathered near the edge of a small pond that lay just outside the main stretch of the city, some sitting in the grass while others were splashing about in the water. None of them had seemed to notice the new arrivals yet, simply caught in whatever they were doing. Josephina, still atop her older brother’s shoulders, deflates slightly at the sight of the water and just all the people in general, wrapping her arms tighter around Jack’s neck, much to his dismay. A boy with dark hair that was slicked completely back, minus one lone curl, and a easy grin spots them first, slinking over.

“Well, howdy there. And who might you all be?” He said smoothly. Despite his question seeming to be addressed to all four of the Peterson children, his mud brown eyes were only fixed on Emma, seemingly studying her up and down in a rather uncomfortable scrutiny. Elizabeth only rolls her eyes, used to the boy’s strange behavior.

“Why hello there, Michael. Good to see you too. Petersons, this is Michael. He literally has no last name. It’s just Michael. He’s the Mayors’ “one and only” son. Michael, this is the Petersons, Emma, Jay, Jack, and Josephina.” She points to each in turn while listing their names.

Michael beams, as if not noticing Elizabeth’s exasperation at all and reached out to take Emma’s hand, placing a soft cold kiss on her fingers. “Pleasure to meet you.”

Emma stiffens, expression warring between disgust and confusion. Surely people in this day and age didn’t still do that, unless it was different in this town. Even if it was…the feeling of the creepy boy’s fishy lips on her fingers was one she was sure she never wanted to feel again. She yanks her hand away, grateful when Jay shifts imperceptibly to stand in front of her, arms crossed.

“Okay. That’s enough of that. Hey, everyone! Come say hello to the newcomers! Don’t be rude! Not you, Michael. You already said hi. It’s not rude for you to just leave. Surely you have elsewhere to be, as a “important” figure in this town or whatever.” Elizabeth hollers at the other kids/young adults, putting her hands on her hips.

Introductions blur together after that. Names atop names. Henley Buckleshoot, Emilia Hawkthorne, Andrew Rodrigaz, Rachelle Jones, Justin Baker, Eric Swan, Chet Buckleshoot, and so on.

Most the kids ended up in the pond sooner or later after that, wading about or splashing and laughing together. Jay was crouched at the edge of the water, trying to persuade Josephina to practice swimming. The young girl, who was deathly afraid of water, paced along the shore for a long bit before finally settling down in the sand at the shallow end beside Justin Buckleshoot, who was skipping stones along the surface of the water. Jack was lying on his stomach in the tall grass, beside Eric Swan and Henley Buckleshoot, talking in low conspiratorial murmurs that no one could hear or understand.

The rest of the kids, including Emma, were gathered round on the smooth rocks along the edges of the pond. Andrew, a tall lanky looking boy, comes over, plopping himself down beside Elizabeth with a heavy sigh.

“Aren’t you supposed working at the docks today?” Emelia asks him.

“Aren’t you supposed to be with your sick aunt?” He shoots back, getting a splash of water in his direction from the girl in reward. Michael shakes his head in a slow way, propping himself up on his elbows. “Children, children, do calm down will you? We have guests.” He sniffs.

“I wouldn’t say they’re guests. They’re gonna be here for like forever. Unless you scare them off.” Chet snorts. Michael ignores the comment, something he seems to do a lot when it comes to details he finds unimportant and turns his gaze back to Emma.

“So, where’d y’all live before you moved here?”

Emma shrugs, fixing her eyes upward to the cloudy sky. Sometime in the day, the clouds had decided to wrap themselves around the sun, effectively darkening the day considerably. “We didn’t really live anywhere specific. We moved a lot. Most of the time, we didn’t move anywhere. We just kinda existed on that boat. It’s kind of hard to detach your brain from it. Especially when it’s been there your whole life.”

“But you’ll be staying here right?” Elizabeth asks, brows pinched together in a worried way that made Emma smile.

“Hopefully.”

“Oh, hoorah! That’s so great! I was afraid we’d be losing you as soon as we got to know you!” The girl exclaims

“Jeez, chill will you, Liz?” Rachelle grunts, seemingly used to her friend’s constant enthusiasm. The short girl with a even shorter temper was sitting nearer to the grass than the rest of them, probably trying to stay dry, one tan arm draped over her eyes.

“Oh come on, it’s time to celebrate! We have new people!!”

“Where in the world would we celebrate? Not to bring down your mood but nobody’s gonna throw a full blown party for new arrivals.”

“We could always go to Lois’ shop. It’s not much of a place for celebrating but it’s pretty cozy. Plus, I’d like them to meet her.” Michael volunteers.

“Wow. It’s the first great idea you’ve ever had, Michael!” Chet exclaims sarcastically. “One problem though..why would anyone want to go to that old lady’s old fashioned shop?”

“It’s not old fashioned. It’s just a different type of fancy. I bet it’s better looking that YOUR tiny house.” Michael sneers back.

“It’s not tiny, there’s just a lot of people in it.” Elizabeth scowls at the insult at her family’s quickly diminishing house.

“Okay, okay. Everyone calm down. Michael is right—partially. It IS a main attraction of the city, that everyone should visit. No matter how..old fashioned it is. And, if anyone doesn’t want to go, then you don’t have to. Besides, I’m under the assumption that some of us have places to be.” Andrew interrupts calmly.

And so, they headed to the shop. Only a few of them that is. Michael, the Petersons, Rachelle, and Elizabeth and Justin. The rest of the kids either stayed by the pond or headed off in their own ways. Andrew didn’t go because he “had work to do” at the docks. Emilia was already not supposed to be playing around, as she was already late to visiting her aunt who had a cold, so she didn’t go. Chet insisted that the place gave him the “heebie jeebies” and promptly left along with his sister.

Finally they reached the Lois’ General Goods. It was closer to the city square, poking out into the street with a view of everything going on around it. Michael, heading the charge, reached the door first and pushed it door open to the shop. The small bells attached to the door let out a small tingling sound as he did so. The rest of the kids filed in behind him. As soon as Emma entered, the thick smell of dust and something metallic and familiar filled her nostrils, making her gag instinctively.

“Michael!” A elderly lady, Mrs. Lois, exclaimed from behind the counter, hobbling out to greet her prodigy, hunching heavily on a cane. Despite her obviousness frailness her sharp brown eyes held a intelligent expression as she surveyed the children in her store.

“What a nice surprise. I expected you later but now is fine too. And I see you’ve brought some new friends..”

“Yeah, they’re new here. And quite..special.” Michael grins, briefly wrapping his arms around the elderly woman for a stiff hug in return.

Josephina scoots closer to Jack, her small hand tightening around his, eyeing the older lady cautiously. Jay, who was still slightly damp from wading about in the pond, stepped in front of one of the fans to dry off, glancing around the dusty place curiously.

“Well, feel free to look around. Michael’s been here many many times. He can show you where things are.” Mrs. Lois finally says, moving back behind the counter, giving them a creaky smile.

The group dispersed naturally after that, curiosity pulling them in different directions. Elizabeth immediately found a rack full of mismatched scarves, holding each up individually to her neck and bugging Rachelle about what her opinion on it was. Justin wanders off toward a shelf filled with jars of candy, buttons, screws and other assortments that Emma couldn’t identify, rattling each one slowly as he passed by. Jack and Josephina meander about with no intended purpose or direction, him still holding her hand tightly. Michael drifts beyond the counter for a moment, whispering something no one could hear into Lois’ ear. The old woman nods once in response and then turns her attention back to the room.

Emma found herself drawn toward a glass-reinforced case tucked into the far corner of the shop. Inside lay rows and rows of ancient coins of different shapes and sizes. Thin or thick, worn discs of bronze, silver, and gold, their surfaces either etched with symbols she didn’t recognize nor understand or just blank. Mixed together..it was certainly a interesting sight.

She leans closer, breath fogging the glass slightly.

“Oh wow..” she murmurs before realizing she’d spoken aloud.

Mrs. Lois appeared at her side from legitimately nowhere, as if sensing someone near her precious collection

“They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” she says, locking eyes with Emma.

Emma nods and the old lady seems to take it as a sign to continue.

“They’re incredibly old. Older than this city. Older than any of the cities here actually.”

Emma tilts her head “Were they used for payment in their day and age?”

Lois smiles faintly, tapping the glass gently with one knuckle. “I’m afraid not. Many think they were but..I personally don’t believe so. Coins like these certainly don’t look meant for trade, hm? They were carried for different reasons we may never know. Maybe they were for good luck charms. Nobody knows.”

Emma’s fingers curled unconsciously around the medallion resting against her chest at the words

Lois’ gaze followed the movement.

“Oh,” she said softly. “Now THAT is interesting.”

Emma blinks. “What?”

“That necklace,” Lois said, peering closer at it, her tone no more than polite curiosity. “May I?”

Emma hesitated only a second before unclasping it. The medallion felt oddly cold as she let it rest against Lois’ palm. Once again Emma was hit with the feeling that she was missing a large weight on her shoulders as she took it off.

The old woman studied it with careful reverence, turning it over between her fingers. “How intriguing..it looks very old,” she murmurs, glancing up at Emma once more. “Wherever did you get it?”

“My father gave it to me. It’s a family heirloom.”

Lois hummed, thoughtful. “Hmm. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.”

She reaches out and hands it back to Emma, accidentally making contact with Emma’s palm. As if in slow motion, Emma felt her vision swim all of the sudden. Her knees shook slightly, feeling weak. She stumbles backward, face draining of blood, hand wrapping in a fist around her medallion. The world tilted. A flash. A golden field. Endless. Wind whispering through tall grass. A woman’s voice that she’d never heard before pounded softly like drums through her ears.

“Emma.”

“Emma, why don’t you stay?”

“Please come and play.”

“Please come and stay.”

“Emma?”

And then, just as quickly as she’d felt or seen whatever that was, it was gone. Her vision swam, black pulling at the edges. Somehow she’d collapsed into a chair nearby. A face was in front of her, hands grasping and shaking her shoulders. Voices popped in and out of her hearing.

“Is she sick?” Someone said distantly, worried.

“Oh gosh, I hope not.” another voice chimed in. “What if we all catch it?”

“I’m not worried!” Elizabeth’s cheerful voice sprang up from somewhere on her right. “No one in my family ever gets sick anymore. It’s really weird, but I’m pretty sure we have some type of immunity to respiratory infection. Maybe it’s all the creatures!”

“Now is not the time to be bragging, Elizabeth.”

“Okay, everyone calm down and back up. You all have been out in this sun all day, yes?” Mrs. Lois says, her voice steady, like an anchor for Emma to grasp onto. The kids all nod and Mrs. Lois tsks in disapproval but says nothing more, moving in front of Emma and gently placing a glass of water into the dehydrated girl’s hand. She helped guide it to her mouth, holding it while Emma slowly drained the glass. “That’s it darling, take it slow. Michael, could you get a washcloth soaked in cold water and bring it here please? Just to help with the dehydration. Everyone else, go get some water. One person dehydrated is enough.”

The rest of the kids quickly scrambled to do as the kind old lady told them, Michael returning shortly after with a slightly damp rag. He knelt beside Emma, and pressed it to her forehead gently, using his other hand to pat hers in a rather condensing “comforting” way while Lois continued refilling Emma’s water.

“Thank you so much. I’m sorry for causing trouble.” Emma finally said weakly, feeling a little less lightheaded. Lois smiles gently, tucking a lock of the girl’s auburn lock behind her ear fondly.

“It’s no problem, dear. I’ve done this plenty of times. My brother used to lie out in the sun all day all the time when we were kids and I had to learn how to help him since he constantly suffered from dehydration.” The old lady chuckles gently.

Emma smiled weakly at that, relaxing and closing her eyes.

~

They stayed at Lois’ shop until Emma finally cooled off and was steady enough to stand on her feet, then began the process of leaving.

“I’m fine really.” Emma insists, rubbing her neck slightly. “Just embarrassed is all.”

“Happens to the best of us.” Lois says easily. “Especially with young people who forget to drink water while they’re busy being..well, young.”

That earned several sheepish smiles from the young people.

Michael claps his hands once, in a way that oddly enough reminded Emma of his mother. “Well! I’d say that’s our cue to escort our guests home before someone else keels over!”

“We should be fine walking home alone. Right guys?” Jay asks his siblings, eyebrows raising.

“Yeah.” Jack says quickly.

“Are you sure that you don’t need someone escorting you home?” Elizabeth says worriedly.

“Yeah, we should be fine. I feel way better, I promise.” Emma insists once more.

“Alright. Come by again soon.” Lois said gently, gaze steady and calm.

So the Petersons headed towards their home, Elizabeth tagging behind them despite anything they told her. It was “just in case” she said.

They were halfway home when they were stopped.

“Hold it right there.” A sharp voice called. Two peacekeepers stood at the center square, Zooey Young and Paul. Zooey was the one who called out to them, arms crossed and eyes narrowed in suspicious. Her partner was simply standing there calmly, though he frowned slightly when he saw Elizabeth.

“Whatever are you kids doing out so late, hmm?” Zooey interrogates.

“We were at Mrs. Lois’ shop.” Elizabeth says quickly, as if that explained anything. “Emma wasn’t feeling well.”

Paul moved then, stepping up beside his partner, expression unreadable but for a brief second Emma thought she saw his jaw clench slightly. “Heat?”

“Yeah. Dehydration, we think. Mrs. Lois was helping her cool down and stuff.” Jay adds.

Paul’s eyes flicker to Zooey then to the children again, studying them carefully up and down.

“I’ll walk them home. Make sure they’re doing what they say and not going off to cause trouble.” He says finally.

Zooey opens her mouth to argue but is cut off by a quick sharp glance from Paul’s grey eyes.

Without another word, he stepped forward and began leading them to their house, one hand resting passively against the gun at his hip. As they moved, Emma glanced back one last time towards Lois’ shop. It stood quietly behind them, lights dim and windows dark. But..just for a brief moment..she could have sworn someone had been watching them from inside.