Dododex

ARK: Survival Evolved & Ascended Companion

Under Nirvana - An ARK

Chapter 1: An ARK

Story by Bria!

Find the last chapter in WYVERN and the next chapter in VULTURE!

“Bawk!”

Nova was jolted awake to the feeling of something pecking away at her arm. The sun was barely rising, and she could feel sand across her back, and everything felt soft yet rough. She groggily lifted her head, and she could see an ocean with waves crashing on the beach and…

“Where the hell am I,” Nova murmured, her blood turning cold. She turned her head to see a strange bird staring at her intensely.

“Uhh… hello? What are you supposed to be?” Nova asked, squinting her eyes to inspect it. She poked the bird on the face, and it let out a squawk, nipping at her finger.

SNAP!

“Ow! What the hell was that for?!”

The bird scoffed. Nova noticed how it had rough, small feathers running across its body, and a large beak that looked too blunt to do any damage. Nova scratched the back of her head. It seemed harmless enough.

“This place is weird,” Nova looked around at the palm trees and the sandy plains with horror in his eyes. It was still nighttime, yet the stars were out, and…

“It’s definitely not Aqua High’s blacktop.”

Nova brushed the sands off her white robe, trying to get a good view of her surroundings. There were palm trees and tropical bushes scattered about the land, a large river running by the land, with humongous salmon swimming by. Nova squinted her eyes. There were even strange horned creatures roaming about.

“Well, it certainly doesn’t feel like a dream,” Nova muttered to herself. She looked at all of her body parts. She once heard that if anything in your body seemed off, you were in a dream.

“After all, everything looks normal,” Nova whispered as she checked her hands, wrists, and legs. She ran her hands across her body, but didn’t feel anything out of the ordinary. And it all felt real enough.

“Definitely not a dream,” Nova murmured, trying to figure out what exactly happened, “The clouds parted and…”

Nova kicked at the sands in frustration.

“Well I’d be damned. We got left on a cliffhanger! Those are the worst.”

The strange bird rustled its feathers and began jumping up in the air, trying its best to get Nova’s attention. Nova smirked at the bird, crouching down and picking it up.

“Come here dumbie,” Nova grinned, “It’d be a lame way to go if I die here. Let’s find a way out, yeah?”

Nova began walking down the beach, past the various prehistoric animals that were becoming increasingly prevalent.

“How do you think we will get out of here, little bird?” Nova asked the bird, “Do you think there will be a boat for us to take out?”

The bird shook its head. Nova shrugged.

“Yeah. You’re right. It’s definitely not gonna be that easy.”

So with that, Nova and her new bird friend set out down the beach, the glow of the moon illuminating the two of them. For whatever reason, with each march Nova took, the more excited she became.

“You know…” Nova realized, “Maybe there’ll be some interesting things on this journey.”

Shhhh,

Just then, the bushes nearby rustled, and Nova paused in her steps. The weird bird squawked in warning. Nova squinted her eyes and set the bird down. Her eyes scanned the sands. A sharp stick was near her feet. She picked it up and pointed it at the bush.

“Whatever it is… I’m armed and dangerous!” Nova shouted.

“Relax. I don’t want to hurt you,” a voice responded. Nova’s eyes widened. It was another person!

A woman wearing makeshift clothing made of cloth covered in dirt and grime emerged from the foliage with a bow in her hands and a quiver on her waist. She had short black hair with streaks of red that was tied in a ponytail, and sparkly glasses that looked recently shined.

She looked like a survivor if Nova had ever seen one. Nova lowered the stick. That arrow would probably kill Nova faster than she could even take a step forward.

“Uhhh… hello.”

“Greetings,” the stranger hooked the bow on her back and raised her hand to shake, “Didn’t mean to frighten you. My name’s Ruby.”