The Arks: Over Heaven

Chapter 32: The Dex

Original Post Date: Mar 9, 2024

Note: Story starts in Wyvern, Aerial ABC backwards filter and has a Prologue. Last chapter in Astrocetus, next chapter in Archaeopteryx.

~

Clack!

The door to Warren’s apartment swung open and a sheriff with tired eyes stepped inside. He flicked the switch and the lights hummed to life, lighting the room up. Closing the door behind him, he walked through a door frame and into his bedroom, which had a single, lone bed that could fit one. He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a book, tossing it onto the bed. Unbeknownst to Sam and Detective Darren, Warren had snuck out that mysterious book after Darren and Sam left the office. It was a simple task, really.

He opened up his wardrobe, switched his uniform out to a pair of pajamas, and snatched the book off the bed, walking off into the living room and plopping down onto the couch. Warren looked up at a stand on the wall. There was a picture of Warren, Sam, and their son Samuel together. Everyone was happy. Sam was carrying a small baby in her arms. He tore his eyes away from the picture and looked at the book that lay in his hands.

The book was called “Tales of Evolution and Survival”, and there was an emblem of a strange diamond-shaped implant on the front cover. It was old and torn and the cover was as hard as a turtle’s shell. A hardcover book, it felt rigid and leathery to the touch, as if it was made of an animal’s hide.

“So who wrote this book?” Warren wondered as he began to flip through the old, yellow pages. The last page of the book, which typically featured who the author was, didn’t have anything except a list of people and the words, “Thanks”, at the top.

“Huh,” Warren said as he looked at the list. Many of the names were odd and unrecognizable. They were almost like usernames from a video game. But one name was separated from the others that stuck out to him.

“I give my biggest thanks to Bob, my biggest and best friend ever! Without your tips, your thoughts, and your stories I would have never made it to where I am now.”

“Interesting names,” Warren thought as he glanced over them, “Isn’t Bob the name of the Vice President? Probably just a coincidence.”

Even if the book was referring to the Vice President, it wasn’t like he would have enough time for interrogation. Neither would an opportunity arise for him at the moment as on the ride home from Terran High he had heard on the radio that Vice President Bob himself would be going out on leave to the Western States of America for a meeting with their president.

But what piqued Warren’s interest the most was the “Dododex”. What exactly was that?

“I should search that up, along with the title of this book. Perhaps I can find the author that way,” Warren thought. But before he could do any of that he still needed to study the rest of the book. He flipped to the first page and noticed the table of contents only contained four “parts” to it. There was also a fifth part, but when Warren flipped to that page he noticed that it was the Thank You page.

“Where is the fifth part?” Warren asked himself. He flipped to the previous page and noticed the last few words at the bottom of the page.

To Be Continued.

The book had never finished.

Warren jumped back to the previous few parts, which seemed to be in fine condition. Although Warren noticed that the seams at these parts of the book were unusually off. It was as if they were stitched together manually.

Warren looked up at the ceiling, and pondered and pondered. What could any of it have meant? Most of these details didn’t matter whatsoever. For all it could have been, this book was just a book that the principal of Terran High really enjoyed reading, and there was nothing to dissect there.

But he still needed to try.

“If I can’t get a lead with one perspective, I will with another. I must find out who wrote this book,” Warren realized. He slammed the book shut and placed it on the coffee table. He got up from the couch and walked over to his desk. A slim, white laptop lay on the desk, produced by technology giant Element Corp.

Opening the laptop up, he fired it up and opened up his browser, gingerly typing “Dododex” on the bar and clicking the enter button. Instantaneously a few thousand results popped up, filling his eyes with thousands of icons of strange egg emblems. He moved his finger along the touchpad and clicked on the link that was most unique. Dododex “Stories”.

Upon clicking the site, his screen faded a teal blue, with a green bar at the top. There was a strange message at the top of the screen.

“Thank you so much for sticking with me the entire ride. I’ll publish my book soon, and you’ll be on the thank you page. I don’t think I’ll use this platform very often now that my story is finally finished… But I know yours hasn’t. I know we'll meet again some day.”

The message was signed off by someone named ‘Moon’. And there was another message replying to her.

“No, I should be thanking YOU, Moon. Your story was phenomenal and I really loved talking to you about the recent chapter or what I thought about the characters and everything. It has been such a journey, a journey three years in the making. So thank you, for the memories you’ve brought me. Thank you for giving us your story, The Obelisk.”

This message was signed off by someone named ‘Biggest Fan’.

“Well this isn’t very relevant,” Warren whispered to himself. He looked at the top right hand corner of the message and saw that the messages had been posted on May 17, 2023, which was four years ago.

“I wonder if there’s any recent messages,” Warren wondered as he scrolled to the bottom of the page. Warren immediately noticed there was an option to go to the previous page. He clicked it and immediately a few more messages popped up on the screen. These ones had been sent a week or two ago.

“Hey, does anybody here know how to tame the Carcharodontosaurus? Me and my nephews have been trying everything with it! Knocking it out with tranquilisers, walking up to passively feed it (although that ended in my death), and even throwing grenades at it. It seems like a messaging site to me, even if it’s inactive… someone please help! - Pilot.”

“Hey Pilot. Don’t worry you’re not alone. I’ve always been here, waiting for someone to message. Even if this isn’t about a story, taming the Carcharodontosaurus is an easy process. All you must do is earn its respect. This beast has a fondness for bloodlust and rage. Murder is its middle name. Slay creatures and earn its respect. Then it will cooperate with you. - Moon.”

“Thanks, Moon. Me and my nephews are going to tame this bad boy soon, the school year is almost over for one of them and one’s even graduating… so I at least want to tame it before he’s off to college. - Pilot.”

“It’s not a problem, Pilot. If you have any further questions, I’ll be here, waiting. - Moon.”

“Looks like that name popped up again. But they’re talking about it as if it’s some sort of game… What even is the point of this website?” Warren asked himself. Warren didn’t know, but if there was one thing he DID know, it was that Tales of Evolution and Survival was directly tied with this enigmatic website. And there were people still here.

And one of those people had also written a story.

“Surely this mysterious ‘Moon’ knows about whatever this Tales of Evolution and Survival book is. I should send a message asking where I can find it. I will find out who my author is soon enough,” Warren thought. He began digging around the website, trying to figure out where he could post a message, when he found it. He would need to download the app. He pulled out his phone and typed it in the app store, searching the name up and seeing the app at the top of the page. Downloading it only took a few seconds, so as he opened the app he began to type up a message.

“Hello. Recently I’ve been on an investigation involving the disappearances of all seniors at Terran High School, in the Star City area of the United Republic of Democracies. As a deputy sheriff this usually isn’t my business to dig around in, but my son was involved in this disappearance and I fear his safety. I myself personally investigated the scene and found a book in the principal’s office titled “Tales of Evolution and Survival”. It was noticeably less dustier than the others. In hopes of getting a lead I searched this book up, and hours upon searching I stumbled upon this website. It doesn’t seem very active, but… if anyone can please point me in the right direction of where this “Tales of Evolution and Survival” story could be found I would be so happy. Please respond soon, my son’s safety is on the line as we speak.”

He wasn’t too sure if he should consider putting a signoff name, but it seemed the formality here. So he decided to just sign off his name. Deputy Warren. He clicked the “Send Message” button, and the screen flashed green. He turned his phone off, placed it on his desk, and stumbled off back to his bedroom, his eyes droopy and his energy low. Time to sleep.

He collapsed onto the bed, readjusting himself until he lay on his back. He turned to the right, where a silver pendant with half a heart attached at the end hung on a stand.

For a moment, everything seemed still. He felt someone comfortingly grab his shoulder, reassuring him that everything will be alright. That they would stick it through till’ death do them part.

“But, that’s probably just my imagination,” Warren thought. He felt a single tear shed from his eye, and he closed his eyes, letting a blissful rest consume his mind.