June on the other hand, shot up from the ground immediately and sprouted flames from her fists.

“WHO’S THERE?!” June roared, her eyes burning bright.

~

“She’s got an implant attribute!” Serenity whispered in a hushed voice, grabbing Sodden and trying her best to pull him away. Dorack and Nal were prepared to fight at a moment’s notice, shotguns drawn. They were all wearing chipped and worn flak armor. “We have to go!”

WOOOOSH! Flames surrounded the four friends.

“Woah!” Sodden shouted, pulling the trigger of his shotgun instinctively. BAM! He aimed the barrel outside the ring of fire. The pellets struck a nearby palm tree, causing it to fall down and nearly crush him. POW! An armored fist struck Nal in the cheek just then, and she went tumbling to the ground, dropping her shotgun. June stood above her with a triumphant grin. Dorack looked back in fury.

“You’re gonna pay for that!” BAM! Dorack blasted his shotgun at June’s chest, causing her to fly back and hit her back in a nearby tree. The red armor she wore seemed to protect her from the gunfire, but she still groaned in pain. Dorack prepared to fire at June again, rage in his eyes, but before he could, a set of vines shot up from the ground and grabbed him by the wrists, bringing him down to the ground. Sodden and Serenity whipped around in confusion at the attack of the vines.

“What was that?!” Sodden shouted. WHAM! A vine whipped Sodden in the cheek, cutting it slightly with its thorns. Before either of the two could react, June lifted her arm and snapped her fingers. The flames around the four grew brighter. Sweat poured the four adventurers’ foreheads. Nal groaned as her body began to warm. Her hands were dangerously close to the edge.

“NAL!” Dorack shouted, still lashing against his vine prison. Serenity turned to Sodden. “Help Nal!”

“Got it!”

Sodden rushed over to Nal and gently picked her up, while Serenity ran over to free Dorack from the vines with her knife. The vines quickly retracted back into the ground. Dorack picked his shotgun back up.

“Where is that woman? We need to kill her!”

“D— Dorack,” Nal whimpered in Sodden’s arms. Dorack looked back in horror, rushing over with a gasp.

“Nal! Are you okay?”

She pointed at the ground where her shotgun had fallen. Dorack glanced at the spot in confusion.

“What is it?”

“They… took it.”

Nal’s eyes rolled up to the back of her head. The punch and the flames had taken their toll on her. Dorack gritted his teeth as the flames parted. Ben stood with a shotgun in his hands pointed at Sodden’s head. Sodden raised his hands in the air, fear written in his eyes. Dorack pointed his shotgun back at Ben. June looked at the situation tensely, her eyes darting back and forth between Dorack’s shotgun and Ben.

“Okay. Let’s all calm down, yeah?” Ben murmured, “Put that gun down.”

“You put your gun down first!” Dorack demanded. Serenity grabbed Dorack’s shoulder roughly. “Dorack. Calm down. They have attributes, we don’t.”

“Which means they won’t be able to respawn, and we can. What’s stopping me from burying you for hurting Nal?”

Ben nearly chuckled. June clenched her fists, almost stepping in front of Ben.

“Ben…”

He nearly lowered his shotgun in pity. “They don’t know. Heh. They’re new.”

“What?” Sodden seemed more confused than anything. He lowered his hands. “What do you mean by that? Do you know where we are?”

Ben tossed Nal’s shotgun to the side. Dorack lowered his shotgun in response when he realized that they were all in a similar situation after all. Ben shoved his hands back in his graduation robe pockets.

“I don’t know what place you come from that lets you… ‘respawn’,” Ben laughed, “But I doubt that will work here in this world. This isn’t your home ARK.”

The four survivors were stunned. Serenity crossed her arms.

“If this is another ARK we somehow don’t know about, then what’s stopping us from respawning?”

Ben motioned around, “Take a look around. Scorched Earth is nearby, all these new biomes are nearby… you’re in an entirely different universe.”

Sodden, Dorack, and Nal gasped. Serenity didn’t seem as surprised, but she still seemed slightly confused. Regardless, she stepped forward, taking charge.

“Is there a way out?” Serenity asked, “Do you know? Does it have to deal with the bosses of this world? Your attributes will be helpful. We can work together to escape back to our home. I know it.”

Ben didn’t respond at the mention of ‘escape’, but his curiosity was piqued at Serenity’s confidence. Serenity sighed, rubbing her forehead. Ben and June shared a glance. It was clear June did not want to stick around with these people.

“I’m not sure yet. Give me and June a moment to talk it over.”