The Terrible Demise Of Tortuga

Chapter seven: Bad omens

-By SunnyFox57

Originally released sometime in January, 2024. Now rewritten and reposted February 1th, 2026)

The clock was ticking down slowly with every second wasted, counting its way down to midnight. He hadn’t even realized that his right thumbnail was tapping to the beat until he finally caught the more frequent worried glances that the maid was sending his way from where she was sweeping up particles of his mirror. Not worried, as in fearful, but as if she was worried he was getting agitated. He was, in a way. But not in an explosive, mind fogging way. Yet. Honestly he was surprised that she hadn’t said anything about her interpretation of his current mood. She wasn’t exactly one to filter her thoughts.

His mind wasn’t as condensed today. He could recognize his surroundings, remember the maid’s name and even remember his own. Yet, he still refused to let them slip directly into his thoughts. They were there yes, but he didn’t want them to reappear, both for different reasons. Hers because he was somewhat afraid that to speak or even think her name, would somehow alert the creature gripping the throngs of his chest that he was awake and alive. He refused to speak his own name, simply because he despised it.

His name was unremarkable. Simple. Repeatable. Millions of people throughout the world carried his name and more specifically, his nickname. It was pathetic, really. Boring.

Currently, he was finishing writing a series of letters. Or at least trying to. He was finally on the last one, but having trouble finding the exact words he needed to make it official. It was absurd how half of his childhood life, he’d written many many letters about more important or longer matters, and yet this tiny request of a piece of paper had him absolutely stumped. And he wasn’t even halfway done.

Every letter that he scrawled out in the shimmering black ink was carefully and thoughtfully designed, no wasted motion. Like he was carving the words into stone instead of paper. His handwriting consisted of neat loops that could and would be easily interpreted.

‘To the Council of Tortuga,’

No. That didn’t sound right. There was no council there, it was ruled by a person alone. And not to mention, it seemed almost informal…why would you a start a letter that way. It was stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

‘To the current administrator of the operation in the city of Tortuga,”

Yes. That was better. Not perfect, and certainly a tad bit too long but it was better than the former beginnings he’d started with. He stared at the line with a tight jaw for a moment before continuing on.

‘Over the past few years we have waited on this particular moment in time.’

Another pause. He runs a hand through his already mussed up curls in agitation, giving the table a few more taps of agitation with his fingernail, as if to punctuate his point.

‘I cannot comprehend, why it is that we do not take action NOW—’

“Sir, are you alright?” The maid interrupts. Ah. There it was. He’d expected her to speak up a bit earlier, but yet she chose to loosen her tongue as soon as the words were just beginning to flow from his pen. He snaps his head up slightly, giving her a scrutinizing look. She looked..worried. As always. Blech. Her eyebrows were pinched together tightly, those large saucer shaped blue eyes staring at him innocently.

“What? Worried that my intelligence is so low, I might ruin this, ohh so important letter?” He can’t help but snap. He was wrong to do so. He knew that as soon as the words escape his twisted mouth. She didn’t deserve that. But he was getting incredibly upset, and wanted someone, anyone to yell at. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he shrunk back. No, it wasn’t like that. He wouldn’t do that. He wasn’t like that. Not like—

“I’m sorry.” He says quickly, interrupting her already opening mouth.

She blinks.

“What?”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have-erm, snapped at you. I’m just..” He rubs at his forehead. “A little stressed is all.”

More than stressed actually. Agitated. He wanted to throw something or someone out of a window. Mostly himself, but that wouldn’t accomplish anything. If anything, it would set him back a lot. By several hours. Or days. Even weeks. Not to mention, the servants and guards probably had enough of being traumatized by his temper tantrums this week.

The sight of her face softening at his words, instantly makes him regret saying anything at all. Stupid, stupid, stupid boy. What are you thinking?

“Could I..help? With anything?” Her voice is barely audible, reminding him for a second of someone he once knew who tended to do the same thing whenever she was pitying him. Blech.

He lets out a hoarse chuckle, causing her to startle slightly. “With what? Writing the letter?” He tilted his head, not unkindly, just curious.

The maid nods, mouth pulling into a stubborn line. “Yes. Sir.”

The thought was amusing, almost ridiculous, and yet he felt himself considering it just a bit. Could he trust her? No, of course he could trust her. She was still here, wasn’t she? After everything she’d seen.

“Perhaps.”

“I assume there’s an “if” after that?”

“You know me too well.” He hummed, almost bitterly. “A drink would be nice.”

“Tea?”

He blinks at her for a moment, the simple word catching him off guard for a second. Why would he want tea? He’d never requested tea before. She drank tea. Almost everyone had drunk tea before in their life. But it wasn’t a drink that normally was offered to people at random, unless you were in some old lady’s home or something. Or that’s always how he had perceived it. Why would he want tea? Why would she offer him tea? Why would he drink tea? Why would she ask him to take tea? He didn’t want tea. He never wanted tea. They never wanted tea. He—

“Maestro?”

Her thick accented pronunciation of his title around the servants, startled him out of his quickly spiraling mind. The fog was slowly settling back in. He could feel it. And in some ways, he completely welcomed it. Welcome back, old friend. Time to take the reins back.

Just not right now. He had to finish the letter. Everyone else would just have to deal with the afterwards. He was tired. Too tired to pretend he wanted anything to do with anyone.

“Maestro?”

“No. Water, please.”

She nodded once, and then glided from the room, leaving him alone with his thoughts and the impatient ticking of the clock, as the door shut behind her. So, he turned back to the letter before him. Anwir would need it delivered soon, and it was his job to finish it, and all the others, before his time ran out.

‘I cannot comprehend, why it is that we do not take action NOW. It has been ten years, since the plan to find our missing companions, and yet now that we have found them, we stall?’

He shifts restlessly in the chair, letting his nail dig into wood desk’s deep grooves once more. A hiss of agitation slips past his clenched jaws.

‘We have already wasted enough time. I am getting impatient. And I assume, the rest of us are as well. Your cunningness will only get you so far. If you don’t act now, we may lose our chance. If you recall, two of us were already lost in the battle with the one known as, the Lux. The more you delay, the more our plan has a chance of being figured out—’

“Sir. Your water?”

He take the glass from the maid, nodding once in gratitude before lifting it to his parched lips. It was a stupid effort, but he couldn’t help but hope that sometime again he would be able to taste or feel the satisfaction of water quenching his throat. So far, no luck. Figures.

“So? Can I help now?” The maid says impatiently, watching him savor the tasteless liquid with a slightly annoyed expression.

“Go for it.” He gestures to the letter and she wastes no time taking the invitation, leaning over his shoulder to look at it, the scent of her bitter orchid perfume filling his nostrils and making him grimace.

“You haven’t go really far into it. It’s a bit short. Is it supposed to be like that?.”

“Have you seen the other letters?” He pointed at the other fifteen or so bulky letter on the other side of his desk, that had wasted most of his day/night. “Not to mention, this one is probably the least important. I’m only trying to-to-”

“Nudge them along?” The maid supplies helpfully, reading his fumbling thoughts.

He rubs at his forehead. “Mmm. Its supposed to be short. What exactly did you expect it to be, L-?” He curses himself silently at the involuntarily slipping of his tongue, biting down on the edge of the glass in his hand. Stupid, stupid, stupid boy. What are you thinking?

“Mmm, i don’t know..maybe something a bit..warmer?”

“Its not a fond letter to a sibling or friend of mine. Just a business associate.” He snorts hoarsely, leaning back in the chair to hopefully wipe the atrocious smell practically dripping from her pores out of his nostrils. Why women insisted on using such disgusting flowery products was beyond him.

The maid hums thoughtfully at that, reaching for his pen tentatively, eyeing him out of the corner of her eye, as if to see if he would try to stop her. He did not. So, she picked up the sleek tool and dipped it into the ink, before leaning over the paper, and beginning to scrawl unto it. Now he is the one who leans over her shoulder, to read her writing. Surprisingly she gets straight to his point, not a bold as he would have put it, but she definitely expresses it.

“You know how easily it would be for someone to realize I didn’t write that last part? Our handwriting is completely different, and I would never “propose” or suggest anything. I’m going to tell you what you need to do, and you need to do that.” He grunts as she finishes, taking the letter from her hands and folding it into the envelope.

“While that may be true, I’m sure your associate will feel a lot better if some of the letter is a bit more gentle.” The maid says, handing him the stamp. He takes it into his hands and slams it down into the back of the letter once, and then a few more times just for good measure. The maid winces slightly at it, but makes no attempt to defend the annoying little tool.

He places the now finished letter atop the others, and leans back into his chair.

“Alright. I’ll take the letters to a scout to be delivered, and then I’ll be back.” The maid says, but he only shakes his head.

“Don’t bother coming back. The room is clean enough.”

“I don’t get payed enough to leave a room that is clearly dirty…dirty.”

“You don’t get payed period. You simply do as I tell you.” He sighs, closing his eyes before he can see the look of hurt or sympathy cross her face. “Just get out.”

He doesn’t open his eyes against until he hears the door slam shut and then the sound of her heels patting down the hall. Finally he leans back further in his chair, pressing his cold fingers against his forehead. He was tired. All the writing and thinking had tired him out. But he was also restless. He wanted to do something. To provoke something. To poke the bear, some would say. He wanted to give in. He was tired of socializing and pretending to be nicer, when he didn’t feel nice. So he leaned further back into his chair and let the comforting darkness roll over him once more. Because one day that would be all he could feel. One day he wouldn’t have to deal with anyone or anything anymore. It was almost over

~~

“Here’s what I need you two to do, okay? Go out the back door, as soon as you hear the knock on the door, do you understand? Don’t still. Don’t stay. Just run. Run even if you’re tired. You can’t stop. You can never stop. Do you understand?”

“Where will we go?”

“Into the forest. Your aunt and uncle will take care of you do you understand?” Their mother repeated frantically, gripping both of her children’s shoulders, shaking them slightly.

The older girl nodded, lip trembling slightly but she was determined to do as she was told. That was one thing about Thea that their mother knew she could count on.

“I don’t want to leave! What about you?” The younger boy, Cassian, exclaimed. His pale colored eyes were filled with a look of fear and worry, that their mother had always hoped would never grace his expression. She’d never wanted this. Hadn’t wanted it to come to this day. To a day where she had to bid her beloved children goodbye, because they were no longer safe.

“Oh buddy, I know. C’mere.” She pulled him and his sister into her arms, for the last time. “I know it’s scary. But I’m gonna be okay. Remember what I taught and told you, alright?” She released them, standing up quickly. She could already hear the sound of horses hooves pounding and the foreboding bells attached to them ringing. She pushes the children towards the back door. “Take care of each other. Don’t stop running. Never stop running, until you’re safe. Do you understand?”

She didn’t give them another chance to answer, already closing the back door behind them and hurrying to the front door, just as a loud knock resounded from it.

“C’mon, Cass. We gotta go.” Thea whispered to her younger brother. She attempted to take his hand but he swatted it away, face pinching together in a stubborn way she knew way too well.

“No. I need to see this. We need to make sure mom is going to be okay. You saw her face. You know how bad of liar she is.”

“But, she told us—”

“I don’t care what she told us, Thea! She’s not just responsible for us. We’re responsible for her safety too! She’s our mother.” Her brother whisper-yelled at her. Much as she wanted to obey her mother, she also thought Cassian had a fair point. So she wisely shut her mouth and together they peaked around the cracked back door inside. She wouldn’t have been able to persuade her brother to do anything else anyways. He was just stubborn like that.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Can I help you?” Their mother’s soft voice was saying. A group of black-clad authority figures stood at the door, expressions hardened.

“We have received word from some..concerned citizens that you may he harboring certain “individuals” in your house, that you claim to be your children?” Their leader says, voice muffled slightly by the mask round his mouth and nostrils.

“I’m not sure what you mean. I live here alone. If there’s any different individuals around the neighborhood, I am most certainly unaware of them.” Their mother lies

“Oh really? That’s interesting. You are Rio Laurence, are you not?”

There was a short pause and then their mother inhaled slightly, giving a sigh and nodded. “Yes, that is I. What does it matter?”

“Well, apparently there was a warrant out for your arrest a few years back. Specifically because you were engaged in a matrimonial relationship with a.. strange individual by the name of Dominick Valente. Ring a bell?”

“Yes. I was married to him. Unfortunately, he is deceased now. Shot ten years ago, by your organization if I recall. So, if that’s all, good day.” Rio begins closing the door but another of the masked individuals steps forward, stopping it with one gloved hand.

“I’m afraid, that is not all. Because unfortunately you were not just married to him. You and him had two children. Which..if you recall, genes do pass down. And in your children’s case, they most certainly inherited his.”

“Even if that was true, you have no evidence to go off of, to arrest me. There are no children here, and my husband is dead, so it should be clear that I’m not fraternizing against anyone.”

“See, that first part is where you’re wrong.”

Rio blinked, confused. “Sorry?”

“You are right, there is no longer a warrant out for your arrest. However…there is a warrant out for your death.”

**BOOM**

The sudden sound of a gun going off startles both children, causing them to stumble backward slightly. Rio’s body has gone stiff, as the middle of her torso slowly soaks with blood, and then abruptly collapses to the ground. Motionless.

Cassian claps his hands over his mouth to stifle a scream but its way too late for that, slipping out involuntarily. All eyes of the men who had participated in the shooting of their mother, locked on them.

“Run!” Thea shouts, practically snatching his wrist and then dragging him off towards the forest.

“That’s them!” A man exclaims.

“After them! They can’t get far on foot.”

Soon the sound of hooves was pounding along behind the running children, from all sides. They run side by side, cold whipping at their face, and the heavy snow catching at their feet. The men after them may have the advantage of faster speed from the horses, but both children knew the woods like the back of their hands. Much as their mother had complained about it, the hours they’d spent playing out there had indeed paid off eventually.

They reached their destination in only a short period. The maze, they’d always called it. It wasn’t actually a maze of course, all it was the place the city stored the chopped lumber during the summer fi the cold seasons. Every stack was piled high in every which way, making it nearly impossible to find your way around it. And when it was winter it was even worse. Snow lumped together on everything, hiding any landmarks that could indicate where you have and havent been. Thea and Cassian expertly split up. It would be harder to find them if they weren’t together.

Soon enough, the riders caught up to them.

“Split up. Cover all ground. They have to be hiding here. They can’t have gotten far away.” One instructs. Cassian remains crouched in his position, trying to even his heavy breathing. He’d never been that good with running for prolonged stretches. Thea was a bit further away from him, squeezed into a crevice in one of the piles, the only indication she was there was her bright orange hoodie.

Cassian watched as the horses circled round the piles of logs, for several minutes. For a second it looked like they were done, until one of them turned back to double check in their direction. Or more accurately…his sister’s. Immediately worry shot through his mind. She’d picked a good spot, sure, but only if the riders weren’t paying much attention. If one saw her, she had a slim to non chance of getting away. She just simply wouldn’t be able to squeeze out of her spot before getting stampeded. What was he supposed to do?? He had to keep them from seeing her, somehow and someway. Even if it met jeopardizing his own position. He may not have listened to their mom about running away immediately but he sure as heck was going to take care of his older sister.

While he was contemplating his decision, the rider was getting even closer to her, only a bit off from spotting her bright attire. So, without a second thought, Cassian leaped out of his spot, letting out a loud holler, immediately attracting attention from any and all of the men nearby.

“Hey, you! Yeah you! Over here, you idiots! Hello?? I’m over here!” He exclaims. Thea’s eyes widen in fright and he can see his sister’s mouth opening slightly as if to protest but he only shouts louder to drown her words. “Over here, guys! I’m over here you—”

Something strikes his back and a pain unlike anything he’d ever dealt before, blooms immediately, causing the words to catch in his throat. But not just the words. His breath stops, and suddenly he’s choking on blood building up from slackened jaws. Another arrow pierces his back, right atop his spine, and then another in his side. And another. Until he collapses to his knees, and then into the wet snow.

A distant scream that he recognizes vaguely as his sister, echos through the woods. There are hands shaking him, someone begging him, and tears that are not his own dribbling onto his face, but he can’t focus on them. He can only think of the fact that he has gone breathless. He can’t breath. He can’t breath. He is going to die. But he doesn’t want to die. But he’s going to because he can’t breath. All the wind has been stolen from his throat, all the breath frozen.

No one wants to die. Certainly not him. He had so much to live for didn’t he? Thea, mostly. She was his world. She needed him. He needed her. He didn’t want to die. Everyone was going to die eventually, but he..he couldn’t right now, he just couldn’t. He couldn’t give up. He wouldn’t. So he grasped the only thing he could find. The will to live. A single bitter seed of hope. He was going to live. He had to.

And it worked. He was alive. He knew that. Something rose up from deep within the chambers of his chest, pumping breath back into his lungs and out his open jaws. He could feel and smell and almost…taste the blood rushing through and around his body. He could feel the cold snow against the tips of his fingernails as he dug them deeply into snow. He could hear the wind gushing, and the sound of the riders around him, shouting orders. He was alive! The satisfaction only lasted for a moment though, because as soon as the pain began ravaging his body and bones, and the truth that he was TRULY alive struck him, he began to scream. And scream and scream until more voices joined his own in unruly symphony

The Surface — Chapter III

The feathered beast raised its head to roar, rushing towards Jasper and Hookfang, rushing past them, screeching as it fell in the trench. It tried scrambling up, but its claws could not hold. The creature shot quills, narrowly missing in its anger. Just then, the claw of a great crustacean, a Karkinos, grappled the Yi Ling, dragging it into a nearby pool. Happy with their narrow escape, Jasper crawled away on eight small legs, Hookfang following.

Stars Of Hope: Spirits Of The Stars

Chapter 5:

Cloud curiosity took over as she carefully padded farther into the clearing, but jungle who just appeared, had noticed this pulling cloud back with her tail with a warning hiss to stay silent, the orange spirit let out a silent mrow of amusement. The spirits all floated in a circle around someone slightly glowing as they seemed to dance around a black wolf like figure who was sitting, very calmly in the middle of the clearing. Cloud could see the wolfs eyes shine with pride and nervousness, her eyes widening in shock ‘this is… the wolf from earlier!’ She thought her tail tip slightly twitched in excitement as she watched.

~~~

The wolf sat there its fluffy black fur shone in the moonlight, her tail wagged slightly in excitement its red patterns shone ever so slightly in the moonlight. She watched her reddish eyes filled with amazement as the spirits danced around her. She sat there shivering with excitement as a spirit approached her, its star like fur shone with its amber eyes, “are you ready for your name, the one who dances in the darkness?” The spirit said, the wolf nodded eagerly her reddish eyes shone with excitement, “y-yes!” She managed to say a bit of a stutter from being to excited. The spirit let out a faint smile its gray fur filled with the stars, “then… shall my fellow spirits look down upon this direwolf and give her, the name she will keep for a lifeline! Starfall!” The spirit said, Starfall looked up her eyes shone with happiness as she dipped her head tail wagging in excitement, but before long the moment faded as they were all pulled out of the dream.

~~~

Cloud slowly woke up blinking the sleep from her eyes. She yawned it felt like she slept for a whole lunar, she looked up to see Jungle poking her with her tail, “wasn’t that amazing! We got to see the Ancestors!” She hissed in excitement, Cloud let out a soft chuckle using her tail to hush the basilisk. She noticed Jungle slithering around the burrow in excitement. Cloud sighed, “by the spirits… you haven’t been this excited in what… oh I lost track of the lunars!” She meowed her voice filled with amusement as she curled up, ‘by the stars… im tired..’ she thought as sleep overcame her. Cloud’s tail rested peacefully on her paws as she slept here ears twitched every now and then she felt… peaceful…..

-Sylveevee

P.S: sorry school started so I haven’t had much time to write

:NEXUS: sry about the delay but I totally forgot about this:( ep6

“Yes… the crunch” said jack as the yuty was eating the corpse of John “you seriously think that you can leave” said Eldon over the crunch of John’s corpse “um… yes” said Megan the megalania “no” said Eldon “I will give you rabies” said Megan “my I introduce Rey esponjoso“ said berry over the crunch of Jerry’s corpse (which he was eating himself) “why is everyone Spanish” said Megan “first eldon then Rey esponjoso”

Dodo tales (S1 Ep6) look for Ep5 in the ankylosaurus section

thank you journey to the aberration trench/a yuty's quest person, I am a fan of your stories (my favorite character was Eel, because he was weird, R.I.P. random spinosaurus) anyway....

As jerry ran into the house, he grabbed his friend's arm and pulled him in before slamming the door. To Jerry's suprise, His friend looked shocked. "Are you ok?" When he didn't respond, he slapped him "Are you ok?!"

His friend finally managed "R-Rick..... my name is.....Rick."

"ok, what's wrong with you, Rick"

"We're.......screwed" Rick said right as the wooden roof burst open with a crash, and the head of an Allosaurus poked in.

They ran to the other side of the house, but a window burst open, and in came another head. It was chaotic. There were at least four, each burst through a wall or window to try to catch them. They ran up the stairs, but an allo came in and caught Rick by the leg...

The Obelisk

-Chapter 7-

Last one was in ankylo and others before it in tamables alphabeticaly.

Woah.

The first thing Forest could see was only light—bright light, white and gold and stinging at his eyes like a billion glow worms encircling him.

But then his eyes adjusted, and as cool air whistled by him, slowly giant plants taller than himself followed, and small black birds flew passed his snout.

It’s beautiful out here.

Forest stood up on his talons, digging his claws into the grass. Holy mother of Araneos. He thought, glancing down at the dirt on his claws. Dirt! Grass! So much GREEN oh my gosh is that a pteranodon? Are these how big trees can get? And Is that a WORM WHAT THE HECK—“Ack!” He leapt back onto the nearest boulder away from the slimy wiggling thing.

A nearby moschops squinted skeptically at him, then continued digging up roots nearby. She paused, her snout half in a bush, and then huffed and walked away. “Sorry,” he called. “Was I loud? Am I not supposed to be loud?” Goodness i’m being loud now shut up Forest. He sat on the boulder and stared at the ground for a while.

Now what? He curled his tail around talons, thinking. I have to find other creatures… but the basilisk only said their names! Am I supposed to just walk around asking everyone their name? That would be kinda creepy.

A large cracking sound came from above him, and he looked up to see a giant branch bigger than himself dangling on its last fiber. Oh dear—

SNAP!

Something hard and scaly slammed into him, pushing him away from the falling branch. He fell into the grass face first and lay there, groaning form the sudden contact.

“Phew. Now that… that was close.”

Forest turned to see the creature that had saved him.

“Hello,” the Carnotaur said. “I’m still waiting for a thank you, but that’s fine. I’m Spark.”

Spiderman

Check the date I have no life

Clans

Chapter 5

Finch and Tail talked a bit more as they sat at the edge of the dropoff, before going back by late sunhigh. Leaves fell around them, making the ground crunch under their claws and giving an almost bouncy feel to the earth.

Finch smiled and jumped on them. Crisp leaves were sent flying all around. Tail smiled back playfully, taking it as a challenge as she kicked some at Finch.

They continued to run through the forest, laughing and throwing leaves behind them as they went. A breeze picked up a bit in the forest; the days were definitely getting cooler, and were bound to get even more so soon, though Finch wouldn’t mind. She enjoyed the cold, and especially snow, which she looked forward to seeing nearly every cold season.

They trotted smoothly along the leaf and pine-needle covered ground, weaving through thin and thick trees and foliage. After a few moments, however, Finch slowed down, noticing that they were nearing the part of the territory that had quicksand. Tail noticed as well and they walked on quietly, stopping as they spotted the pit. The area, despite appearing flat, was soggy with sand and mud, the rain from this past moon making it more dangerous than usual, if a creature weren’t paying attention. Finch sniffed quietly and went forward, making sure she kept well away from the quicksands damp border. They maneuvered in a long arc around it before carrying on.

As they approached the camp, Finch saw her father’s dark figure disappear through the entrance with prey in his jaws. She smiled and went over to greet him, Tail following close behind.

“Hi, father!” Finch trilled. Dusk glanced back at her as she called, dropping his kill beside the split hollow they kept the prey pile in.

“Hey there, small bird,” He said kindly, his orange eyes lit.

“Hello Dusk,” Tail greeted with a wave of one talon, her tail swaying happily.

“Hey, Tail!” He always spoke to her in such a kind, respectful voice, as if Tail were a good friend of his that he’d known for a long time. Finch always found it interesting and somewhat sweet of him to be nice to her best friend, despite the two not actually interacting often, as he usually had his claws full with the rest of the Clan to actually get to talk with her. (Like all the raptors in the pack, however, he made sure to get to know them from the others insight and see to it that everyone was getting along and things were going well. Finch had no idea how he did it. She wished she were even half as skilled and confident as he was.)

“Say, have you seen your mother anywhere?” Dusk continued after a moment, glancing at the monochrome raptor. “I actually brought this prey for her.”

Finch listened as Dusk brought up Tail’s mother, Peppermint. Typically known as Pepper, Finch knew and loved the older raptor very much. She was raised by her, alongside Tail, afterall. After her own mother disappeared when Finch was only a new hatchling, Peppermint had taken her in.

Tail answered, and the two talked for a moment, Finch zoning out a bit and glancing around the clearing before Dusk poked her with his tail and began to instruct her.

“Would you two be so kind as to bring it to her? I’m going back out again. I’ll be back by sunset.”

“Got it,” Tail said with a grin, gently picking it up. “C’mon, Finch!” She mumbled.

“Again?” Finch asked in surprise, and Dusk nodded. “Fresh air is something I always like to enjoy,” he said, smiling slightly as he ruffled Finch’s feathered head and nudged his tail against hers, the two tails wrapping together a bit. “I’m just a little under the weather, that's all. Tell you what though, you want to go hunting with me, tomorrow maybe? Whatever time is best.”

“Of course!” Finch said, forcing a small fanged smile despite feeling a crushing wave of anxiousness. Another chance to fail in front of him. She saw Tail waiting for her a ways away and hurried off to her. Dusk turned to leave camp with a small farewell.

She finally caught up with Tail, and the two took their time heading to the other side of camp. “So, what’s up with Dusk?” Tail asked Finch curiously, tilting her head with the prey still in her mouth.

“What do you mean?” Finch asked.

As she walked, she had to pause as Rift’s two growing hatchlings ran past her. Sand was sitting down by the fallen log close by, gnawing on some food as the hatchlings both came up to him, pointing at the claw marks on his feathered arm and asking him questions in excited voices. Finch smiled and walked slowly by, picking up on their conversation.

“You listen to mother, remember,” Sand said to them. “And I’m older, I can get into fights when I need to.” Sand had been from Rift’s single litter seven years ago, and Rift hadn’t had any more hatchlings till’ now. ‘He’s needed siblings,’ Finch thought to herself.

Tail then answered her question. “What I mean is: I’ve noticed before that he acts differently every late fall, each year,” she said. “He doesn’t talk as much, he’s always isolating.”

“...Isolating…?” Finch repeated quietly, her gaze flickering down and ahead for a moment as she walked.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure the adults know, but they don’t ever say anything.” Tail said. “Even my mom. They’ve been speaking with one another a lot, especially recently, more than they usually do. You’ve seen that, right?”

“Well, of course they talk,” Finch replied. “They’re friends. She helped raise me…”

“I’m just saying, he seems different. You should ask him.” Tail said. “He’s our leader, but you’re his daughter, he’s your parent…”

“I could try,” Finch said with a nervous look.

She didn’t admit it, but she actually hadn’t noticed that about her father. He was distant from time to time, but she hadn’t seen a pattern… He was just her dad, he didn’t exactly change. She wondered what was going on, or if Tail was just seeing things that weren’t there, and the new thoughts that had now been planted in her mind were nothing but a waste of a dead seed.

The camp was speckled with shadows and sunlight as the sun lowered, the trees around the camp slowly losing the last of their leaves. They made it to where some of the dens were and Tail tossed the prey on the ground, calling for Peppermint.

“Mother! Dusk asked us to bring this to you!”

“Pepper?” Finch asked, stepping forward and peeking into the small den. She glanced in and didn’t see anyone, which was unusual, she thought she had last been in here. She was then startled by a voice from her side as Peppermint appeared from the shadows with her claws out. “Boo!”

“Pepper!” Finch yelped in indignation as she leapt back with her black pupils slitting.

“I couldn’t help myself,” Peppermint said in a soft and humorous voice. Despite being quite the loveable and gentle type, she always had time to play around. She bumped her snout happily against Tails’ as her daughter laughed and stepped over to her. “That’s for you,” Tail said as she nodded in the direction of the prey.

Pepper blinked once, her yellow gaze gentle. “That’s kind of Dusk… he always brings prey for me. I’m gonna have to get him back for that! You two could help me. Have you been able to catch anything as of yet, Finch?” She asked, walking out of the den towards the prey, the two trailing by her.

Finch shook her head. Tail smiled and said, “she’s going to eventually, though! She’s being silly about the whole thing.”

“I just need to try harder,” Finch said, “I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. Tail’s brought prey back several times already.”

“It’s blind luck, trust me,” Tail said to Finch. “You need to relax, it’s not that big a deal! You’ll get it.”

Finch sighed quietly through her nose before Pepper spoke. “She has a point, it’ll be ok, Finch, you know no one here doubts you!” She sat down with a long yawn, stretching her arms out in front of her on the ground before folding them close to her chest. “You wanna share?” She asked them with a tip of her head towards the prey.

They glanced at each other, the two hadn’t eaten since early this morning, after all, and Finch was definitely hungry. Her stomach was quite irritable now that she thought about it.

“Yes,” she answered with appreciation.

The day went by slowly as they ate outside the dens, Finch watching the far side of camp as she waited for Dusk to come back. The sun was near its setting point. Tail was crouched by her, blinking fast as Finch stood up slowly. Tail put her claws on her tail to stop her. “Where are you going?”

“I think I should look for Dusk,” Finch said.

“He said he’d be back by sundown, right?” Tail said. “It’s not that time yet, he’ll come! Don’t leave me, c’mon,” she said with a smile, pulling Finch back down with a small happy scoff. Finch rolled her eyes lightheartedly. Tail had always been a pretty clingy friend, to everyone she was attached to.

“Finch! Tail! Tail!” A small voice called, a small ruffled Raptor running up to the three and skidding in front of Tail with big round eyes, colored a dark orange that was almost red. The little hatchling was known as Salmon.

“Hide me!” He demanded as he scrambled around Tail with an alert look. “My sister and Thunder are after me!”

Finch snorted, as Peppermint lifted her head high and glanced around the camp bathed in dying sunlight. They could hear Thunder’s voice, sounding slightly nervous as he searched around from another edge of camp by the prey pile.

“Gnat, come back!” He yelled.

“I’M GONNA FIND YOU, SALMON!”

“Gnat, come on, ow… Side-ache…” Thunder said, slowing down as the little female raptor Gnat, Salmon’s sister, ran at a fast pace to find her sibling.

“You’re seven years old, Thunder, you don’t get side-aches!” A voice from nearby called.

“This seven-year-old does,” Thunder said breathlessly.

“He doesn’t do enough running,” Tail said humorously. “That’s the reason. Raptor’s should do lots of running to keep themselves healthy!” She said to him.

“I am healthy…” He called back. “I think…”

“Just a tad bit lazy.” Peppermint added. “He’s stronger than most of us, though, I can assure that. Nothing but gut and muscle in him.”

“Thankyou,” Thunder said slowly with a pleased, wholesome look. Tail began to laugh boisterously.

There was a high-pitched shrieking of hatchlings as Gnat appeared from nearby and leapt on Salmon from behind Tail. The two screeched and tussled, Salmon yelling desperately for his life to be saved from the creature of pure evil attacking him. The sun slowly went underneath the trees.

Tail had joined the skirmish of the two hatchlings, Thunder coming over to try and help Tail pry them away from each other, grabbing Gnat’s tail in his mouth as she let out a loud squeak. Can’t have hatchlings getting too heated and accidentally ripping out an eye or tearing a claw.

“Rift, come get your children, they’re fighting again!” The voice of Dusk called suddenly. He came into view and walked over from behind Finch and Pepper.

Finch turned around with a small trill of surprise, her expression lifting. “Hey!” Dusk smiled and stepped in between them, glancing at Finch and then Pepper.

“Hi again,” Pepper said.

“Hey, Pepper.” He said in a low tone.

“Dusk.” She continued, almost teasingly.

“Pepper,” he replied with a rebellious smile.

“Dusk!” She retorted as she hit him softly with one talon. “Thankyou for having them bring me that prey earlier. I didn’t need it, but I can never argue with you, so thank you.”

“You’re actually a very good arguer, especially when you want to make a point,” he said thoughtfully, scratching a couple of his feathers quickly with his claws. “She’s quite scary when she wants to be, despite being soft-spoken, freaks me out sometimes—” He said to Finch. Finch rolled her eyes, and at the sound of little Salmon screeching in slight over-dramatic pain, Dusk looked gruffly over at them. “You two! Stop it already,” he said.

Gnat instantly let go, while Salmon just stared at him in foolish embarrassment. Gnat huffed and kicked at the ground irritably. Rift began calling them from not far away as she finally began to run over.

“Sorry, Alpha…!” Salmon yelped in a soft voice.

“His name is Dusk, by the way!” Gnat said to him, and they began to argue before Dusk smacked his tail against the ground and caught their attention again. “Go to your mother, she’s wanting you both.” He said. The two fluffy raptors scurried off to Rift without any more words and she pulled them towards her strictly to lecture them about staying with Thunder when he was kind enough to watch them. Thunder walked over and apologized to Rift sheepishly as he explained what happened.

“Great work, Dusk,” Peppermint said with a small sigh, setting her head on the ground with her eyes closed.

“Young Raptors like to fight, and I’m all but unaccustomed to it by now,” he said in a tired voice.

“Don’t I know it,” Pepper replied quietly.

He glanced at her, and she opened one eye to look at him at the same time. The two did that a lot, it was like they could hear what the other was thinking just by reading their expression, and they seemed to talk to each other with their minds all the time. Finch wished she could do that.

Pepper pressed her mouth in a thin line, her tail sliding over to Dusk’s side.

“Tail’s been doing amazing at hunting so far, I’ve heard,” Dusk said after a moment to her.

Finch made a tense expression, turning away slightly as she sat and pretended to begin fixing her feathers the moment they mentioned hunting. She stretched out an arm and started to pull the disheveled feathers back straight and into place, not wanting to engage in this but still willing to listen. Peppermint spoke right after Dusk with a lift of her head.

“She’s way too much like her father,” The Raptor laughed with a smile. “Remember how good at hunting he was when we were young?”

Dusk’s tail twitched. He made an unreadable, almost strained and hidden expression as he stared sideways at her. “Yeah. Tail’s sure to grow up a great hunter and Raptor.” He said after a moment.

Peppermint was smiling sweetly. “She’s just as friendly and social as him. I bet he’d be so unbelievably excited to get to meet her. I would love to see that so much.”

“…I would love that too.”

“I wonder who they’re talking about. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of Tail’s father.’

“Wouldn’t that be great?” Pepper asked.

Dusk stood up as she spoke with a big yawn, his sharp teeth and tongue showing. “Are you getting tired?” Pepper questioned.

“Nah. I’m gonna stay up a bit more tonight.” He said. “Gonna go eat some food. Make sure everyone’s in camp by now,” he said, walking off and yawning again.

Pepper nodded, and Tail ran back to them from a small ways away, not long after the Clan leader had left for another part of the clearing.

“The day was so short today,” Tail said thoughtfully. “Feels really weird.”

Finch glanced up as she came over, skidding to a stop. Peppermint spoke in agreement. The moon glittered overhead, not a star was seen from behind the pretty, illuminated gray clouds and ink black sky.

Finch nodded. “Cold season seems to like to do that,” she said. “Making everything harder, and relishing in the chaos that follows, just when things seemed nice for once.”

~

“And then they said something about you getting to meet him, but Dusk had to go afterwards.” Finch finished.

It was incredibly late at night, Finch and Tail had been nowhere near tired after such a short-lived amount of daytime. The moon was as thin as it could be, meaning the next time they would see it, it would be full and round again, and the nights would be much brighter.

“Huh…” Tail said. Finch was sitting on her side, rolled slightly on her back in an oddly comfortable position. Tail was sitting atop the split log the freshly caught prey was always kept in. It was empty now. “That’s really weird. Peppermint has never mentioned my father before to me. I don’t think anyone has.”

“That’s what I thought,” Finch said.

“I wonder who it could be,” Tail said, deep in thought as she glanced down. “Or if he’s even living in our territory anymore. He could have been a loner, but that doesn’t sound like mom.” It was a female’s right to have the choice of whether or not to share who the father of her offspring was unless two mates made it official, and so most never questioned it, and Tail and Finch had never thought once about who Peppermints mate might have been.

There was a moment of silence and pondering.

“How come Dusk seemed to avoid Pepper when she talked about him…” Finch thought out loud.

‘He doesn’t talk about my mother, either.’

“I don’t know,” Tail replied. “All I know is I want to meet him so badly now. I’ve never got to know who he is!”

She had clasped both of her talons together as she sat up straight on the hollow, looking up at the sky. “I’m sure he’s awesome and the best Raptor out there.”

Finch continued to listen. She could feel pieces in her brain that seemed so close to fitting. ‘C’mon, Finch, be smart for once. This is totally such a waste of your time to think about, but…’

‘Maybe he had to do with my mother?’

‘I wish I knew her. At least I had Peppermint, though. I’m thankful for her.’

Some nightly wind picked up, flying across the mottled dirt and grass ground and past them, shifting through Finch’s feathers and making her scales cold. She was beginning to get somewhat tired and longing to curl up in a warm den for the night.

“You can go if you like.” Tail said to her, a smile still on her face. “I’ll be right behind you. Just give me a minute or two. I need to keep thinking about this.”

Finch made a slightly worrisome look. “OK,” she replied, a bit quietly.

She went off to the dens and padded inside her and Tail’s once again. Thunder was in there, too, sleeping until she walked in, in which he slowly flickered open tired eyes and carefully scooted to the side to make a spot for her, his orange eyes glancing up at her with a gaze like warm fire.

She blinked gratefully at him and plopped down beside him, a shiver going through her before eventually settling down and getting comfortable, as the cold air was shut out by the dens’ walls. Sand was kicking at nothing slightly with one back leg as he slept nearby, and she noticed the shape of a raptor slipping into the den, her pupils flicking over to see who it was in the dull light. There was a color of pale sandy yellow and white specks alongside three crooked, antenna-looking feathers on their head. The Raptor sat down robustly at the other end of the small den with a scoffing, tired sigh.

Finch closed her eyes as the den went quiet again. Her head laid on the ground and her talons tucked under her, and she let her tail slip over close to her body. Her mind buzzed like it usually did, with thoughts and anxieties of this season and everything possible to happen, followed by the worry for the possible hunting tomorrow. She cleared them away in a haze before finally going to sleep.

Ark: Object Of Extinction

Chapter Two: Perfect World

“…Two…One…” The pod jolted. Followed by a bang. Everything went dark, and cold. Ethan turned to look out the only window in the pod. Space, endless space filled the view. “What happens to earth now?” He asked. “According to scientists, the gravity will falter, the atmospheric layers will shrink, causing all oxygen to disappear into endless space.” The officer next to me replied. The pod jerked again. Light filled the window. The sound of gears turning filled my ears. The door hissed open. Two officers greeted us. “Welcome citizens, to TUR’s very own planet, The ARK.” One said. “Citizens…?” I asked. “I think there must be a mistake, I am Commander Percival. I am obviously your superior officer.” I said. One of the officers raised his eyebrows. “You are Commander Percival, Of England, but up here, you are just another citizen, you are to obey every officer you see. You can identify an officer by their red outfits.” The officer said, while attempting to hide a smile. I felt my face go red. Ethan looked at me expectantly. “Now if you please, sir, follow us to the welcome center. The head of TUR is awaiting the last of the survivors arrival.” The first officer stated. He motioned for us to follow. As we walked down the hallway I noticed the walls were made of glass, showing the inside of what looked like a factory. Men in white suits were operating on a single machine there. ‘Probably attempting to create a new bomb of sorts…’ I thought. It looked like a very small bomb, if it even was one, it was Diamond shaped. “This way sir.” The first officer said, he lead us into a large room, filled with officers in blue suits, from earth. I stood next to my fellow commanders. They all looked equally infuriated as I did. Except for Josh, he was from Ohio, I’m guessing he had already seen his fair share of odd things. The last of the officers settled into the room. The officer with red suits walked over in front of the doors. Weapons extended. Which did not make me feel any better about the situation. In the center of the room, a large platform extended up from the floor. A large projection of a man appeared on it. The man was young, in his thirties or so, he had brown short hair, green eyes, tight white skin(you could nearly see his skull),and a black uniform. “Greetings, subjects of The United Republic. I am General Norman, representative of The United Republic high council. I apologize that I cannot greet you all in person. As a token of the councils appreciation that you all stayed loyal to our cause, you will all be branded with the TUR ARK Logo, anyone who sees that logo will respect you, and yes, this does mean that you are not alone on this ARK, we have many occupants. We transferred them over way before we did you. That is all for now. Thank you.”

The crowd began talking amongst themselves. “Well, some sense of authority is better than none.” The commander next to me said. “Agreed.” I replied. An officer walked up. “Excuse me sirs, will you follow me to the branding station.” The officer asked. I nodded. We followed the officer to a small machine that looked similar to a table saw. “Put your left hand under there.” The officer said, while pointing towards a small hole. I put my hand under. An electric jolt shot through me. I froze. Pain shot through my wrist. No matter how much I tried, I could not move. Finally the pain stopped, I removed my hand. A small Diamond shaped tattoo was on my left wrist. The officer led me to what would be my sleeping chambers. It was a small room, a cabinet sat next to a white bunk bed. Another cabinet was hooked on the wall next to the top bed. “Excuse me sir, who else is sleeping in here?” I asked. Another guard walked in, followed by Ethan. “This guy.” The guard said. I resisted the urge to groan. The guards laughed and exited the room, locking the door behind them. I sat on the bottom bunk, and opened the cabinet. Various items were in it, a pencil, a magnifying glass, a notebook, and a book labeled, A Guide to The Creation of The ARK. I picked up the magnifying glass and held it to up to the tattoo. The lines that made up the sides were very squiggly, then I noticed, they weren’t lines at all, they were letters. It was two words repeated over and over again: Contestant One.

Next in Archaeopteryx, previous in Anklyosaurus.

By MGG

The Island- chapter VIII

Day nine…

Marcel’s eyes shot open as he gasped for air. He was shivering and crying, and he could still feel the raptor’s toe claw digging into the back of his skull. But the raptor wasn’t there anymore. Marcel was in his sleeping bag in his house, with his one eyed compsognathus, Magnus, sleeping on one of Marcel’s storage crates. He could hear Ghost, his parasaur, softly outside, grazing on the bushes that grew near his house.

Marcel sat up and felt his midsection. He was relieved when he found nothing there, but then he realized that the raptor had killed him. Somehow, he had “respawned” back in his sleeping bag. He stumbled outside and looked across the water at the beach on the other side of the inlet. There was a hill not far from the beach, and the hill led to a cliff. He saw on the trail there was a raptor, picking at Marcel’s corpse. It was pretty far away, and it didn’t seem to notice him. Marcel walked slowly down to the beach, grabbed his clothes, and put them on. That raptor, he thought, would be a threat. He wouldn’t be able to leave very far from his house if that raptor was still alive. He had a plan…

9:00am

Marcel’s hands hurt. Badly. He had spent most of the morning killing dodos and dilos for their skin, and he also chopped down small trees with his hatchet and processed the wood into small planks. He placed four thick planks of wood together and bound them tightly with rope. He wrapped string leather around the whole thing and stitched it to the wood. He then made a Handel out of wood and tied it to his brand new shield.

Next, Marcel searched for a long, flexible branch. It took him a while, and he was restricted to the small peninsula that his house was built on (because of the Raptor),

But he found on after about an hour of searching. He then took some rope he fashioned from fiber and hide, and tied some to both ends of his makeshift bow.

Next came the arrows, which were easier than the bow. He took small, straight sticks, and tied sharp stones to the ends, until he had about fifteen. He now had a primitive bow and arrows. He decided to test them out on a pack of dilos wandering about 100 yards from his house. He nocked an arrow, and drew back the string. As one of the dinosaurs looked up and saw him, he let the string go and the arrow went flying. It struck the dilo in the head and killed it. He mocked and released two more arrows and killed the other two dinosaurs. He walked over and collected two of the used arrows. The third one broke on impact and was lodged in the dilo’s skull. He skinned the three dilos and used their hide to make a quiver to store his arrows.

Marcel looked at his reflection in the water. He was totally different from when he first woke up on that beach on the Island. He wore a cloth shirt and pants. His face had a rough stubble and his hair had grown longer. On his left wrist, his shield was strapped to his forearm, and in his right hand he held one of two spears he had, the other was strapped to his back with his bow and quiver. Strapped to his belt was his hatchet. While he respawned without any previous injuries he acquired when he died, he had scars of all of them. He had several scars on his chest and arms form various scuffles with dilos, and he had a scar going down his stomach from where the raptor had gutted him. He felt stronger, smarter, and more capable than when he first arrived on the island. As he looked across the water to the hill where he knew the raptor was lurking, he exhaled. He was ready…

Marcel rose up out of the water and walked up the beach. He could hear his heart pounding in his chest. It felt like it was going to explode. He paused at the bottom of the hill, and unstrapped his spear from his back. He cautiously walked up the hill, scanning the tree line. About 50 feet away, he saw the now fly-covered corpse of his previous body, and right next to it was his pouch and spear. He then heard a menacing snarl. Marcel looked all around him but didn’t see the raptor. Until he looked up. Up, on the cliff, was the raptor, looking down at him. It snarled again and hopped down and landed about 50 feet from Marcel, snarling and snapping its jaws. Marcel raised his spear and shield. The beast charged, and so did Marcel, yelling like a madman….

My apologies for the relatively boring chapter everyone. I know it was probably boring but it’s necessary, and too long as it is. Also a quick reminder, I am going in alphabetical order when I release the chapters. Chapter I in achatina, chapter two in allosaurus, and so on. You can find chapter VII in ankylosaurus and chapter IX will be released in archaeopteryx