Dododex

ARK: Survival Evolved & Ascended Companion

Under Nirvana - An ARK

Prologue: Doomed to Death

Story by Bria!

Find the last chapter in N/A and the next chapter in WYVERN!

The night was gloomy. The night was dim. There were dark clouds everywhere. Not like you could see the stars yonder anyway. It seemed like the worst day. After all, for dear Nova, it would be her last day at the gossip grounds that were known as Aqua High. The last day she got to spend in a heaven that she called school.

Nova was standing amongst a crowd, along with many other waiting graduates, each one wearing a white gown and graduation cap. It was a tradition to wear white gowns, so that everybody would be pelted with ocean blue dye after their ceremony.

Most graduates were watching the stage with anticipation, eager for the big moment.

“You don’t look excited.”

Nova turned around, facing her best (and only) friend, Samuel. Samuel had a smirk on his face, and his long black hair fell all the way down to his shoulders. Nova had become friends with Samuel during their freshman years, when they were paired next to each other in Foreign Language. Nova had forgotten to do her homework over the weekend, and without question, Samuel handed it over without issue (well, there was issue, actually. Nova threatened to beat the ever-living hell out of him if he didn’t fess up). But that day on, their friendship never faltered or wilted. Nova loved hanging out with Samuel. He was her personal antisocial dork. The free homework was always a plus, and whenever possible, Samuel would put up with the new gossip Nova heard of.

Nova wasn’t horrible to Samuel 24/7, of course. That’s only part of the facade.

“Why would I be excited, Samuel? We’re actually gonna have responsibilities now! And the drama… the drama isn’t gonna be a thing anymore. Of course I’m gonna miss this place!”

“Right. Once you go to work, you don’t think there won’t be drama?”

“That doesn’t count! HR will scrub it clean before I can get a chance to pry!”

Before Samuel could respond, someone walked up to the microphone and tapped on it, startling a large majority of the crowd. Standing on the stage was Ms. Mo, their principal. She was looking extra nice today, with her gray suit complementing her orange tie and combed back gray hair. She looked surprisingly young for her age, but maybe that was all the artificial make-up. When Nova’s eyes shifted to Ms. Mo’s left eye though, she shivered. A jagged scar ran down her right eye.

Many people always asked how she got that scar. She would always reply,

“I got into a massive fight with a bear the other day, har har har…”

Ms. Mo was always known for exaggerating tales of her life. She’s had that scar for who knew how long, after all. Most likely, she just got it from fooling around as a kid. It always made Nova curious, but unlike other affairs, she never felt it was her place to find out how.

Nova’s thoughts were interrupted by Ms. Mo’s abrupt speech.

“Greetings folks. Here we are, at the end. You spent the past 12 years learning, and now here you are, ready to move onto the next episode and become women and men. You all worked hard to get here… at least I hope. Oh who am I kidding, half of you can’t even tell left from right, fu fu fu… Anyway, it might sound scary, to which I say it is. I hate my life… Uh, did the mic catch that? Whoops. Well, that’s all I have to say. I’ll just… pass the microphone to someone more qualified. Give it up for the valedictorian, Borealis.”

Nobody cheered at Ms. Mo’s speech, though Nova didn’t blame them. Ms. Mo was always a lousy principal. As Ms. Mo stepped off the stage, a boy with neatly combed black hair stepped onto the stage. Unlike the other graduates, he wore a black gown and black cap, and he had a green plume which reached all the way down to his shoulders. His walk was stiff, yet professional.

“Here comes the star student,” Samuel muttered under his breath, smiling faintly, “He looks like he doesn’t want to be here.”

“Psh! Yeah, he does,” Nova agreed.

“I wonder if his speech will be any better than Ms. Mo’s. Though, to be honest, I think even a delinquent would stir the crowd more…”

Borealis cleared his throat. Everybody was staring at the two. Samuel murmured an apology and quieted down. A few boys were cheering Borealis on as Borealis tapped on the microphone.

“Fellow students, it’s an honor to be your valedictorian. But I shalln’t waste your time further. I worked hard to get here. And you can do the same to reach my level,” Borealis continued. He clearly rehearsed this, “Now. Allow me to give a few words of advice to the… ones who were challenged here as a high schooler at Aqua High.”

Samuel blinked his eyes, looking a bit confused.

“He didn’t mention her at all,” Samuel whispered to Nova. Nova nodded in realization.

“Yeah. He won’t even mention his dead lover? That’s screwed.”

Borealis spoke, “Life isn’t meant to be easy. That’s kind of the point. Get yourselves together if you want to actually make a change in your lives. Otherwise… you’ll be nothing. You’ll never get the ending you want.”

“Yeah. He’s not gonna mention her,” Samuel muttered, crossing his arms.

“The ending I want, I know I will achieve,” Borealis stepped away from the mic, “So, why slack off? Get to what you need to do.”

As Borealis stepped away from the microphone, Ms. Mo walked up and grabbed the microphone.

“So… prepare to get absolutely pelted.”

Everyone began to murmur in excitement as faculty began to surround the crowd with paint buckets.

“ONE! TWO! THREE!”

Ms. Mo stepped down from the stage, clearly uninterested in the countdown. The soon-to-be graduates began to chant the countdown in unison. Nova and Samuel joined in too. A smile even formed for a second on Nova’s lips.

“FOUR! FIVE! SIX!”

The screaming grew louder and louder to the point that Samuel’s ears started to hurt.

“SEVEN! EIGHT! NINE! TE–”

Ms. Mo let out a cry of pain, falling to her knees and clutching her right wrist. Everyone stopped the countdown, and whispers began to radiate throughout the crowd.

“Serves her right,” a few people whispered. But just as faculty prepared to unleash the paint on the scholars, Borealis screamed out too, visible pain across his face as his wrist began to bleed. As soon as Borealis started to cry out in pain, many more people in the crowd began to feel it too. By the dozen, everyone was writhing around, an unexplainable pain in their right wrist.

“Ah!” Samuel screamed as he fell to his knees. Nova quickly knelt down to see if he was okay, “Samuel!”

The clouds above began to part, and the shining ball of stone they called the Moon began to move around the sky at an alarming rate. The sky seemed to be generating streaks of green, orange, and red, spinning around in a triangle and aiming right down at them.

Samuel looked up in horror as a bright light enveloped everyone.

“Come on Samuel, let’s get the hell out of here before we turn into toast!” Nova cried, holding Samuel up and limping past the pained crowd.

SHOOM!

The light immediately consumed the two best friends, and before Nova knew it…

She was unconscious.

~

Author's Note:

HIIIIII!!!! This is my new original story! I hope you enjoy!!!