This is the story of how I met Astro, the most playful, and majestic astrodelphis of them all. It all started when I was relaxing in genesis part 2, not a care in the world. I was on a PvP server, and relaxing wasn’t tolerated. A wild player stormed into my base, lv 314 giga and all. My base was razed to the ground, along with most of my dinos. Innocent otters, and maywings alike were slaughtered. When I returned to my base, I was devastated at the massacre. A rage built in me, I had to get revenge. I traveled to the corner of the map where I hid my emergency supplies, and got to work.

I was in the space biome, gathering materials for my plot of revenge. While I was mining element nodes, I heard a high pitch chirp. I turned around to see a lone astrodelphis, floating to me. It started attacking, like it was angry at the world. I looked at it straight in the eye. “I see we both have angers at the world.”, I said to it as I dodged it. “How about we take our angers out together?” The dolphin lessened it’s attacks, and I fed it element. After a while later, I finally gained its trust. “I’m not that good with names…”, I said to my new friend. The astrodelphis chirped as if it was annoyed, like it ment, “I don’t care” A simple, but decent name came into my mind. “How about Astro?” Astro chirped again. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

A week later, and my plot for revenge was in motion. I managed to find the enemy tribe’s base, and I was getting soakers ready. Astro was armed with a fresh tek saddle, and had a flame in his eye as he looked at the opposing base. “You ready for the attack?”, I asked him. Astro whistled and clicked. “Ok! Let’s begin.” I advanced the soakers forward, and a rain of bullets started to shower on us. After retreating some of the soakers, and replacing them, the turrets finally ran out of ammo. I withdrew all the soakers, and moved the attack squad into position. Rexes, spinos, shadowmanes, and Astro were part of this. Enemy players and dinos rushed out of the base to defend. I mounted Astro, and gave him a pep talk. “Finally the time Astro. The moment we seek glory and get revenge on the enemy!” Astro chirped a mighty battle cry and we soared into battle. Bombs exploded below, and entire walls of metal were collapsing to the ground. Enemy players and dinos alike were run over, eaten, and blown to bits by my team. At the end of the battle, their base was just a skeleton of what it used to be, and the enemy was retreating. We have won!

A huge party followed after our victory, including fireworks, cake, and a game of tag! Me and Astro shared a toast to the ones who died in the battle, and shared another toast to more victories in the future.

To this day, Astro still raids bases with me, and he is the only Dino that survives base wipes by other players. He developed a mighty taste of blood! I hope you all liked my story, I’ll see you all at the battle field!

The Five Talons of Abberation, Chapter Four...

Kiri and Syaoran sat on the crates, talking for a while. "So..." Kiri said. "Does this make us friends?" Syaoran put his head on his hand. "I guess." He said. Kiri sighed. "That's what everyone I ever tried to make friends with said..." She sighed. "I guess I'm just too weird." She stood up. "I'll just leave." She said, beginning to walk away. But Syaoran grabbed her arm. "Don't go." He said. "I don't have any friends either... and it seems like we have a lot in common." She nodded. "I guess." She said. He sighed. "People think I'm weird too." He said. "We're just different." She sighed. "Alright then." She muttered. "I.. have a performance tonight though." He nodded. "I'll come with you." He said. She nodded. "Alright." She snickered. "Are you going to dance?" Syaoran huffed. "Obviously not." He said. Kiri snickered. "You totally are." She said, running off. He followed her, jumping over the crates and into the streets. They were no longer the bustling, busy streets from earlier, but a calm, quiet town road with only the few sounds of the few creatures and people left in the roads. Kiri stepped behind the small stage in the middle of town, Mitsuto sitting on the stage. Kiri took a guitar out of its case from behind the stage, putting the straps over her shoulder. "What are you playing?" Syaoran asked. Kiri shook her head. "You'll see." She said. "It's a rather sad song... I don't often feel happy enough to play nice songs. You caught me on a nice occasion." Syaoran sighed. "I feel happy a normal amount... but I also feel sad a lot." He said. "I guess we are pretty similar." Kiri nodded. I guess. She thought. She stepped up onto the cage, fixing the microphone. Very few people stood below the stage, staring up at her. She tapped the microphone and cleared her throat, before she began strumming the guitar. She strummed for a while, before beginning to sing.

Is this as bad as it gets, or is it gonna get better?

Is this some kind of test, or will it be like this forever?

'Cause I ain't ever see a cloud this dark

And I ain't ever been down this far

Is this as bad as it gets, or is it gonna get better?

I know ain't gonna be no easy ride

And what doesn't kill you makes you stronger

But I'm running out of places I can hide

And everyday it's like the nights get longer

When I close my eyes, yeah, the waves get high and the flames get hotter

So I'm asking myself, cause I can't tell

If this is hell or just high water

Is the tide gonna turn, or will it keep on rising?

Is it all gonna burn, and it strikes like lightning?

'Cause I'm fighting and I'm just

Hangin' on to any thread of hope

Wonderin' if I should just let go

Cause it's killin' me to just keep on climbin'

Lookin' for a silver lining

I know it ain't gonna be no easy ride

And what doesn't kill you makes you stronger

But I'm running out of places I can hide

And everyday it's like the nights get longer

When I close my eyes, yeah, the waves get high and the flames get hotter

So I'm asking myself cause I can't tell

If this is hell or just high water

Oh, will it ever be over

Oh, am I two-steps back, or one step closer

I know it ain't gonna be no easy ride

And what doesn't kill you makes you stronger

But I'm running out of places I can hide

And everyday it's like the nights get longer

When I close my eyes, yeah, the waves get high and the flames get hotter

But I'm myself

Cause I know dang well

That this ain't hell

It's just high water

High water

It's just high water

Kiri sighed, stepping off the stage as the few people clapped. She set the guitar back in its case, latching it shut and then heading into the city with Syaoran following. Where do we go? She thought. She turned to Syaoran. "Where do you want to go?" She asked. He shrugged. "I'll see you in the morning, though." He said. Kiri nodded. "See you in the morning."

-SangToareGirl (Repost with chapter title)

⚠️THIS IS A WARNING⚠️ NEVER leave these guys out while you’re out farming or taming something. always remember to cryopod them. why? because they like to wander away when you’re not in render distance. then, they’ll phase through the map and kill themselves. i’ve lost countless of these things because of the same problem. if you find this helpful, up this so people don’t lose their dolphins. -J

Dodo Tales (S1 Ep10.5) behind the scenes 🤫

Rick wakes up. "Where's Bob- I mean, Jerry"

*CUT*

Rick wakes up. "WHERE'S JERRY!?!?!?! What do you mean that was too loud?"

*CUT*

*Jerry lying on the beach*

"This story is too generic"

"STICK TO THE SCRIPT"

*CUT*

*Rick smashes the rock into that guys head*

"Oh, is that a crystal lands poster? Can I have one?"

"No breaking the fourth wall!"

"Fine...but it is a nice poster..."

*CUT*

"Can I give the giga a hug?"

"NO!"

"Give me a break, I'm supposed to die in this part!"

*CUT*

"HEY! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO THROW THE FOAM ROCK AT HIS HEAD, NOT A REAL ONE!"

"Oh...sorry"

*CUT*

"Can this be one of those stories where animals can talk?"

"NO!"

"Why?"

"BECAUSE THEY'RE TOO EXPENSIVE TO HIRE AS ACTORS, WHY ELSE?"

"oh"

"But you guys have plenty of money"

"More money on actors means less money for you"

"Oh"

*CUT*

Ow I have a-

*CUT*

*Laughing intensifies*

"get it?"

"If you say cut then you have to hire talking animal actors

*CUT*

"😉"

The Obelisk

-Chapter 12-

The sun was high in the sky, filtering beams of golden light through the leaves. The swamp was a short ways ahead of them, and the three carnivores were getting along well.

“Da-da—I really can’t stay—da-da—DA-da-da…” Rust sang, bouncing along side Forest.

“How close do you think we are?” Forest asked Spark.

“A few miles, at least,” she said, swishing aside some bushes.

“Baby its COLD OUTSIIIIIIIIIDE!” Rust leapt passed a crooked branch, clinging onto trees with his wicked sharp claws.

“Must you continue singing that?” Spark asked.

“Yup,” Rust answered. “I love singing.”

“So do I,” she retorted. “Just not SO MUCH of it.”

“Now you sound like my mom,” Rust said with a toss of his head. “Great. Will there be a lesson of politics and politeness next?”

Forest laughed, remembering his own mom. He smiled at Rust, who grinned back, beaming.

“Sure,” Spark said sarcastically. “Rule number one: don’t steal.”

“Ahh, come on!” Rust said. “I was just joking! That Kapro probably caught a thousand more meals after that. I bet you gold she’s totally forgotten me.”

“Lucky you, you ran into us,” Spark said with a sigh.

The deinonychus marched forward some more, singing once again. Spark gave Forest and exasperated look.

“So what’s the full plan, Forest?” Spark asked after a while.

“We find the other two carnivores,” Forest said. He’d explained the prophecy and the basilisk he’d met days ago to both of them, getting eager but nervous expressions from the two. But they both agreed they’d search with him.

What are we even saving the world from? Forests mind questioned. She didn’t say that. I suppose the carnivores have been quarreling for a while… but that’s nature, isn’t it? Only young, juveniles like us could get along.

Maybe that’s our purpose. Prove to all of Fjordur that carnivores CAN get along.

If so… what a small band to change the world.

Pandora

• Chapter 9 •

“What do you think, Nettle? This one or this one?”

“You literally know I’m not a fashion type.”

Bright made a frustrated face and showed the draping to Ember, who shrugged, already too caught up in promptly covering her horns with bracelets.

Bria watched them quietly as Bright and Ember proceeded to figure out what looked best on each other. Three days had passed since the mob, and the full moon festival was being hosted tonight. To be honest, Bria was excited for this one in particular. She hoped she and Pandora would really get to meet King Toxin.

“Bria! Bria, wear this,” Bright insisted, bringing over an ebony colored necklace and holding it in front of Bria.

“Oh, I don’t need to wear anything,” Bria told her, shaking her head.

“What harm would it really do, huh?” Bright asked. “Besides, the black will make you look almost just like your sister!” Pandora perked up from where she sat a little ways away, playing with some tied-up sticks on the carpeted floor. Her few black stripes were hard to miss, along with a few bits of it on her tail and the undersides of her wings. They matched her black eyes rather well.

Bria thought for a short moment, before sighing. “Alright,” she said, accepting the necklace and putting it on.

The sun was setting at a snail’s pace outside Ember’s den, and the Wyvern’s quickly finished getting ready as the sky dimmed. Bria stepped through the entrance to look out at the mountains and valleys and the lake below. Wyvern’s were spilling slowly from their homes, flying from all directions to a small plateau far off where the light of torches and fire’s could be seen.

“Could I, like, not go this time?” Nettle was asking, padding up to Bria’s side.

“It’s non-negotiable, Nettle!” Bright called from inside, before she jumped out next to them, now decorated in a few loose accessories and pretty bits of jewelry.

“READY!” Ember yelled last, running out and smashing into them. The four were knocked down on the ledge and Bright yelped and swatted at her. Nettle wriggled away and drew herself up indignantly, looking at them as if reevaluating her choice in friends.

“I’ll get Pandora,” Bria said as she stood and moved back inside.

She stepped into the den, feeling the soft rug under her claws as she did. “Pandora, we’re heading off, you ready?” She called gently. “It’s nearly sunset.”

Pandora flicked her tail and looked up from what she was doing, her eyes blinking once. “Yeah, I’m ready.” She stood up slowly and shuffled over to Bria, looking almost nervous.

Bria smiled reassuringly at her, before re-exiting the den with her and taking off with the others. They flew over the lake and up to the flattened ridge, and Bria was the first one to land with Pandora right behind.

They were almost instantly surrounded by other Wyverns of all four tribes, landing and talking and flying over them to the center of the festival. The last remnants of light from the sun had drowned behind the mountains, and the sky became a beautiful dark blue with speckled stars.

Pandora stuck right by Bria’s side as if tied to her. As Wyverns maneuvered around them and her friends, a few took small side glances at Pandora with different looks varying from startlement to disgust to intrigue. A couple of Wyverns stared at them, and in hushed voices turned and disappeared into the crowd as quickly as possible.

Pandora’s face was a confident neutral now. She lifted her snout and shifted a step from Bria, and Bright and Ember hurried towards the main crowd and called for them to follow.

I wonder if I’ll see Rainstone here, Bria thought.

A sound of rhythmic thumping reverberated from somewhere in the center of the gathering. Bria tilted her head and some of the Wyverns made their way towards the sound curiously. At the same time, Ember perked her head up excitedly at the sound, her blue eyes brightening before she went that way as well.

The moon slowly rose into the darkened sky as she and the others emerged into a much more open space. A little ways ahead, a Lightning Wyvern sat on a jutted slab of rock, two old-looking drums in front of her. She was hitting them in a slow, quiet motion with her tail, smiling up as the moon lifted.

Ember’s mouth opened in joy, and she ran over to the Lightning Wyvern’s side and sat next to her. They looked at each other and Ember grinned confidently, before bringing the claws of her wings down on the second drum. The sound echoed three times and then she stopped.

The other Wyvern observed her in surprise, before thumping her other drum. Ember did the same thing back, and the crowd watched as they began a symphony of beats together, the sound ringing through the clearing as the full moon shone down on them.

Tails tapped on the ground as Wyverns watched, as the mood lifted for the festival and voices began overlapping around. Bria watched in pleasure as the two Wyvern’s drummed along, Bright stepping out and bravely throwing herself into a dance that went along with the echoing sounds.

And behind Bria, she didn’t notice as Pandora slowly turned and walked away.

~

The muted gray-blue-green Wyvern loafed on a rock above the main section of the festival. His jaws parted in a yawn and he covered it with the back of his wing, before looking back at his two friends. Well, his one friend and the other one that didn’t seem to like him or her at all.

“It’s cold,” He observed to them.

Other one, otherwise known as Gull, didn't say anything as his twin Zeer laughed aloud. “Cold for you,” She teased. “We’re Ice Wyvern’s, remember?”

“And I’m a lowly Poison Wyvern, got it,” Nor replied.

Zeer climbed higher up part of the rock above Nor, looking down and folding her mottled white and dark blue wings. “And don’t you forget it.”

“Remember that King Toxin is a Poison Wyvern when you start feeling snarky,” Nor said smoothly.

Zeer laughed again, snorting and giggling childishly. Gull rolled his eyes and looked up at the stars, admiring them quietly. Nor glanced at him. Gull really was a strange one, that was for sure.

There was a tiny gasp from above him and he looked to see Zeer pointing down at something. “Look, look, it’s what's-her-face!” She whispered.

Nor looked down and raised his eyebrows in surprise as he saw the strange shape of someone walking casually down below them, away from most of the crowd. It was Pandora.

“You mean Pandora,” Gull corrected his sister.

“Yeah. Right.” She said dismissively. “The ugly Wyvern. Gull, go follow her.”

“Yeah, that’s not happening,” Gull said simply, scratching his snout with one claw.

“Do it, snow-for-brains! C’mon, she’s all by herself and there’s no way she’ll see you!”

Gull shot a glance at Nor and he gave him a look that said, “Just do it, bro.” Gull groaned and hopped down the rocks silently, gliding down the last drop and landing deftly. He glared up at Nor and Zeer and then went the direction Pandora had disappeared to.

Gull grumbled to himself as he walked. Stupid, stupid, just leave the damn deformity alone, guys. What did she ever do?

He couldn’t argue with his sister anymore and expect not to be clawed. He just wanted to enjoy the festival and watch the night sky, for once! And not get caught up in whatever Zeer and her dumb friend did. He kicked at a rock with a badgered look on his face, before hearing an echo of a second rock falling ahead.

He slowed down slightly, keeping quiet and staying by the rocks where he was more hidden. He looked back to make sure no one was following or watching him, then moved a little ways forward.

His white and lemon-yellow scales and spikes rippled gray under the moonlight. He flicked his tongue out, a cold breeze flowing past him. He stopped and looked up over a small lump of stone.

Pandora was sitting alone with her tail lying limply on the ground to her side, her wings folded and her head looking up at the sky. She looked peaceful, the air shifting past. She didn’t shiver.

Gull watched her for a moment before stifling a sigh, his heterochrome eyes glowing in the darkness.

He was about to turn back around to leave when Pandora’s head turned his way, and he was scared senseless by the sight of her black eyes and bright white pupils. She stared at him, her face quickly shifting to a glare of plain ire.

“Ack!” He ducked down back below the rock, taking a deep breath and staying like that for a few seconds. Hearing no further sound or movement, he peeked back over.

She was gone.

~

Wyvern’s had joined in with Bright in the moonlit stone clearing. Bria saw Nettle bat at a random lantern for fun beside her, sending it swinging back and forth from it’s hanging point. Dragons laughed and danced and talked amongst themselves in the mass.

Bria glanced back, smiling slightly, before her thoughts were cut off as she noticed Pandora was nowhere to be seen. She flicked her gaze around for a moment, but she couldn't see her.

She furrowed her eyebrows. “Where’d Pandora go?” She asked Nettle.

Nettle looked over and winced in guilt of not noticing. “I didn’t see her leave.”

Bria stood up on her hind legs and looked out at the festival’s crowd, only to see a different familiar face.

He was talking to someone, chuckling slightly before he looked and spotted Bria. The dark gray and blue Lightning Wyvern smiled kindly and waved to her. Her tail swished and she gingerly lifted one folded wing to wave back, before she heard talonsteps approaching behind her and Nettle.

“Hi again,” Izzabee’s voice said, and Bria turned around. Nettle’s eyes widened at the sight of her. “General Izzabee? KING TOXIN, OH, UH–” Nettle tucked in her wings and lowered her head, a sign of great respect.

Toxin appeared from behind his mother, looking bashful and only slightly anxious. “Hi, hi.” He looked over at Bria, and Izzabee took a few steps back to stand at Toxin’s side. “You must be Bria?” Toxin asked.

“Yes, that’s me,” Bria answered, pulling her wings in as well and bowing her head. “It’s great to meet you, King Toxin.”

“You really can just call me Toxin, um–” The Poison Wyvern shuffled. “Like you do with General’s.”

“O-OK,” She said quietly, drawing herself back up.

“I was told that–” He paused, looking around, then at Izzabee and then back to Bria. “Where’s– your sister?”

“I… don’t know at the moment,” Bria answered truthfully, feeling embarrassed. “She wandered off, but she’s here, I’m sure of it.”

“Oh.” Toxin said. “Alright.”

“Perhaps it’s just not time yet,” Izzabee said. “Bad luck.” Toxin nodded and shook himself, his dark and light sage green frills making a ruffling sound.

“YO!” Bright called. “IS THAT TOXIN YOU’RE TALKING TO, BRIA?”

~

Gull climbed back up to the two, looking calm but stroppy as Zeer stood up curiously. “Did you see her?”

“Yes, I saw her,” He answered. “And she’s freaky, OK? Just– let’s just go down to the festival and you two leave her alone from now on.”

“What are you talking about?” Nor asked.

“Leave her alone!” He snapped. “Gosh, do I have to repeat myself?”

“It was only once,” Nor said. “I was just showing you guys.”

“Well, don’t do it again. She doesn’t deserve it and I don’t want you guys making enemies.”

“Whatever, Gull, you make no sense.” Zeer said.

“Neither do you, Zeera.”

“Zeer,” She corrected her brother sternly.

He growled at her and Nor quickly stepped in between them, his wings raised. “Quit it. Gull’s right. Let’s go down to the festival.” Zeer gave him a look and he shook his head with a sigh, before jumping up and gliding down to the center of the gathering. Zeer followed him, and Gull hesitated, lashing his tail against the ground. Then he spread his wings and went after them.

Don’t kill dolphins you monster does anybody get the reference

Who else just glides around on one with the tek saddle Nad blasting genesis 2 ost I do that and blast creatures while aiming and spinning my ASTRO on tek saddle I love these guys so much my favorite creature in ark

The Arks: Over Heaven

Chapter 30.5: Tertia Via Ad Amorem

Original Post Date: Feb 28, 2024

Note: Story starts in Wyvern, Aerial ABC backwards filter and has a Prologue. Last chapter in Crystal Wyvern, next chapter in Astrocetus. This is a "decimal" chapter. This means it does not exactly fit on the timeline, but still has relevance to the plot.

~

“Whoop him! Whoop him!”

“Show that punk who’s boss!”

“FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!”

Ben shuffled through the ever growing crowd, most of which had their phones out. His eyes pierced through the opening and he saw two guys standing off against each other on the cracked asphalt. The sun beat down on him harshly, causing his ears to ring and his head to feel hot. Metal beams off in the distance held up ceilings which gave a bit of shade in this harsh heat. Of course a fight was going to happen about now, the heat had probably made someone mad and delusional.

Ben pushed his way to the front of the crowd, much to the dismay of some of the people recording the fight. A guy in a plain gray compression shirt with tan cargo pants stood with his arms crossed, a smug smile on his face. The guy facing him had barred teeth and clenched fists. He was tall but skinny and pale. A girl was standing beside him, clutching onto his arm, her legs shaking and a dark expression on her face.

“Ian,” Ben muttered to himself as his eyes spotted the gray shirt guy. His gelled up hair shined as the sun hit the two of them.

“It’s not my problem your girl decided she wanted to get all comfy with me,” Ian spat, “That’s on you for not tending to whatever needs she was feeling. I didn’t even know she had a man. So I suggest you back off, Michael, or I’m going to have to hand your ass to you.”

“Ooooh, I wouldn’t let that slide if I were you,” a random person whispered in the crowd. The tall guy scoffed.

“You wooed Hannah into liking you! And I am NOT going to let you get away with that!”

Michael began to stomp forward, and Ian grinned, when suddenly someone began to push through the crowd. A boy in a long sleeve, thin red shirt wearing blue basketball shorts made his way to the center, sweat pouring down his face and an exasperated look in his eyes.

“Ian, stop! You can’t fight him,” the boy said.

“Paul,” Ben thought.

Ian turned to Paul, and Paul grabbed Ian’s forearm tight.

“If you fight him, you’re going to get in trouble. Your chance at going to university will be ruined! Please let’s be sensible, just apologize to him and we can all go home.”

“Hey, idiot! This is none of your business, so stay out of it!” Michael barked at Paul. Paul looked at Michael with pity, before turning to Ian. He tugged at his arm again.

“Come on. Let’s go now. Ben, John, and Carlos are waiting for us.”

Michael suddenly ran forward and slammed his fist right into Paul’s nose.

SNAP!

“OW!” Paul cried, clutching onto his face. Blood began to seep from his nostrils onto the palms of his hand. His nose seemed slightly misshapen, and he fell to his knees. Ian instantly knelt down to support him.

“Paul!” Ian said. Tears began to brew in Paul’s eyes, and everyone began to murmur amongst themselves. Michael smirked.

“I said that this is between me and this punk right here. Now look at you blubbering on the ground-”

Ian instantly rose from the ground, reached his arm back, and socked Michael right in the chin.

POW!

Michael’s head went flying up, and Ian grabbed by the hair and ran to the support beam, slamming it right into the pillar.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

Blood splattered onto the ground, and onto Ian’s shirt, and residue was left onto the pillar as Michael’s arms slumped almost lifelessly, back and forth, back and forth. With heavy gasps, Ian let go of Michael and he collapsed to the ground. Gasps rang throughout the crowd, and Hannah began to scream so loud that the stars would be able to hear her if they had ears.

Ben couldn’t help but watch.

“Should we call the ambulance?” a random girl asked in the crowd.

“Yeah. We probably should,” another random guy replied back. As Paul groaned on the ground, two familiar figures rushed through the crowd and picked him up. John and Carlos. John grunted loudly as he lifted Paul and placed him so he was leaning on a pillar. Carlos wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead.

“It’s going to be alright Paul,” Carlos said. Paul muttered some gibberish weakly. John looked on hopelessly, his lip quivering and his hands as still as rocks.

Ben backed off into the crowd, and Paul’s eyes darted over to Ben’s. Instead of Paul’s frown growing heavier, it grew into a smile. Ben smiled back, and after just a second of contemplation, walked in to help him up.

~

“His head really was bashed in, he’s not going to die but we can’t assure he’ll still harbor any of his… past motor skills.”

“Oh my baby!” a mother wept as the doctor told her the heavy news. Ben sighed as he looked at the two. Michael had started this conflict, but did he truly deserve this?

Ben got up from the seat in the hospital.

“Who cares. That’s on him,” he thought to himself. He pried his eyes away from the mother. But, something in his heart was betraying him. Was this really ‘right’?

Ben had that feeling inside of him that something like this had happened in Ben’s past. And that, somewhere deep inside, he was the one who had hurt someone like Michael.

“Maybe it did, maybe it didn’t,” a voice in the back of his head muttered, “Maybe-”

The voice blurred out as Ben entered the room where Paul was being housed. As he opened the door he saw Paul sitting up on a hospital bed with a bandaid on his nose.

“You’re all done,” the nurse muttered gently to him. Paul winced as the nurse put a sticker on his arm, and she walked out of the room to leave Ben and Paul alone. As the nurse closed the door behind them, Ben slowly walked up to Paul. Paul looked at Ben, but he did not smile.

“I’m sorry I didn’t step in to help,” Ben said, his arms dangling by his sides, “I should have helped deescalate the situation with you. But I chose to stand by the sidelines.”

He clenched his fist.

“I thought Ian had it all handled.”

“Ben, it’s okay. Really,” Paul said gently, “I just didn’t want any of this to happen. That’s what hurts me the most.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“These fights. They’re just- I don’t understand it all, really. Why we have to fight,” Paul explained, his eyes shuffling to his feet which dangled over the bed, “Why can’t we all be friends?”

Ben’s eyes darted to the floor. The quartz was cleaner today.

“I don’t know, Paul. That’s just how people are.”

“Maybe it’s because of their love. It makes them act up,” Paul added, “Do you think that… Michael really loved Hannah?”

Ben shook his head.

“No.”

“Well. I think he really did. I want to assume the best. He cared a lot for her. Maybe he didn’t know Hannah was cheating on him all along and assumed- You never know, Ben.”

“You’re really understanding of someone who broke your nose,” Ben muttered. Paul smiled at the comment.

“I guess. Hey, is Ian doing alright?”

Ben shook his head again, slowly, and Paul frowned.

“The police have him in custody. The others are visiting at the moment. He surrendered willingly, but- that look he gave me…”

Ben shuddered.

“I think he saw me in that crowd.”

“Ben, you don’t think Ian hates you for that do you?” Paul said, “He’s our friend. I don’t think he hates you.”

“Maybe he does.”

“But you can’t assume that unless you really know, Ben,” Paul responded firmly. He shut his eyes tight, “Please just relax for a bit, Ben. Really this is all just a bad day. Even though it’s a Friday…”

Paul looked at Ben with bright eyes.

“How about you go get some fresh air? Go to that taco place nearby. Whatever it was called… I forget. And hey while you’re at it you don’t mind getting me some too? I would like some chicken quesadillas with a side of curly fries.”

“Okay. Got it.”

Ben turned around and began to walk out the door, when Paul suddenly called out one last time.

“Hey Ben?”

Ben turned his head.

“Yeah?”

“Do you… feel bad for Michael?”

Ben turned his head back.

“No.”

Ben walked out the door and closed it behind him. He looked down the hallway. The doctor and the mother were gone, but the weeping still remained engraved in his memory. He could hear her cries and shallow sniffling echo in his ears.

“Oh my baby!”

Ben rubbed his eyes and walked out of the hospital as quickly as he could. The faster the haunting echo left his mind, the better it was for him and for the others.

“I don’t care, I don’t care,” Ben muttered to himself, “I don’t care I don’t care.”

~

Ben was fiddling with a coin, spinning it around in his fingers and bouncing it from one hand to another. Per Paul’s request, he was currently at the store that sold tacos, burritos, quesadillas, and other Mexican cuisine.

Ben loved tacos. In fact it was his favorite food. He always went out on Fridays to get a few carne asada tacos. It was a tradition of his, and sometimes he would go out with his friends if they weren’t busy. But because of what happened today, they were indeed busy.

“Next!” the lady at the cash register shouted. Ben let the coin flip in the air one last time, and it landed heads in the palm of his hands. He pocketed the coin and walked up to the register.

“Well hello! Good to see you again Benjamin, the usual?” she asked. Mrs. Park was such a sweet lady, she and many of her colleagues had started this restaurant to make their living, and Ben was one of their very first customers, which Mrs. Park was grateful for.

“Yeah, yeah the usual,” Ben replied with a soft smile, “But can you add a chicken quesadilla with a side of curly fries? And make that second order to go please.”

“Of course. Coming right up!” Mrs. Park shouted some Spanish order into the kitchen, and then turned back to Ben, clicking a few buttons on the cash register. Ben’s total came up.

“That’ll be $13.05,” Mrs. Park declared, looking at Ben with a smirk. Ben nodded, pulling out three ten dollar bills. He handed it to Mrs. Park, and she loaded it in the cash register.

“Keep the change, kay?”

“Of course. Thank you, Benjamin,” Mrs. Park reached forward and pinched Ben’s cheek, shaking it like she was his grandmother, “I can’t believe you don’t have a girlfriend yet. You’re such a gentleman!”

“Yeah yeah, thanks,” Ben replied sheepishly, “But, I never cared for that stuff. I’m fine as I am now. That’s all that matters to me.”

“Aww, come on, don’t say that mijo, having a lover by your side is always the best! You can kiss and cuddle and-”

“Yeah, YEAH, I know,” Ben shot back, scratching his head lazily.

“Well, just wanted you to know!” Mrs. Park giggled.

“Figures. Seeya around.”

“Okay… Well, enjoy your time here!” Mrs. Park called out as Ben left to go find a table.

Ben let out a sigh as he plopped down on the booth of a two-seater table, shuffling around in his seat before finally relaxing, breathing steadily and looking at his surroundings. There were many couples chatting together, holding hands or feeding each other or drinking out of the same glass. Ben smiled as he looked around. He found it comforting how happy the people of this town were, even with everything going on around them. Even with…

“I don’t care about that,” Ben thought to himself.

A few minutes later, one of Mrs. Dugo’s co-workers came around with a plate of 2 carne asada tacos and a glass of chocolate milk (along with a bag that said THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU that smelled like chicken). A weird combination, but Ben always found it delicious.

“Here you go, enjoy!”

“Thank you, sir.”

The waiter walked away, and Ben grabbed a taco. He wanted to finish this meal quickly so that he could deliver Paul’s meal.

But as he took a bite out of the taco, he couldn’t help but scrunch up his face in disgust. Despite its savory and saltiness that Ben particularly was fond of in carne asada, things just felt…

Duller.

He took a look around his surroundings. Everyone else seemed to be enjoying their meal fine. One man was even eating a boatful of the same carne asada tacos that Ben was eating, and he didn’t get the ick.

“Why does it taste like this?” Ben thought. He took another bite, but this time it tasted even worse. He almost gagged, but luckily with a swig of chocolate milk it went down but even that tasted a bit thick.

Ben blinked his eyes again, and looked at Mrs. Park who seemed her outgoing self. There’s no way any of her colleagues had messed with the food, right?

It wouldn’t make sense. He had known them for the longest time!

“She was the one who recommended it to me. I would think-”

Just then, the door to the restaurant opened up and the bell contraption rang, and Ben’s eyes darted to the door. A girl walked into the premises. It was her.

She was well known by everyone at her school, and the ones that did know her were most likely friends with her. Not only that but she had to have been one of the smartest girls in the school, she had always been participating when the teacher asked questions and even got higher test scores than Ben.

More importantly, they were friends. Her, Ben, and Brandon, Ela, and Elena.

Ben didn’t know why she was here, but he noticed her waving at Mrs. Park with a smile.

Then she turned around and began walking toward Ben.

Ben blinked his eyes, squinted at her, then decided the most polite thing to do was wave. He waved at her softly and with a bright smile on his face. She waved back and gave Ben a smile.

“Hey! What are you doing here?” Ben asked curiously.

“Ah, nothing really,” she replied while looking around the place. She was wearing a white v-neck sweater, green cargo pants, and a gold chain hung near her waist.

“Well, there’s got to be a reason, right?” Ben said as he took a quick glance at his food.

“Of course there is. But… It shouldn’t be too hard to figure out,” she replied with a smirk. Just then Mrs. Park herself walked up to her with a plate of tacos. Mrs. Park gave them to her, and she said something in Spanish before she walked away. Ben squinted at Mrs. Park in confusion.

“I don’t get it,” Ben finally admitted.

“Come on. It can’t be that hard,” she said, widening her eyes at Ben, “Don’t we bear an uncanny resemblance?”

Ben blinked again, and then nodded in realization, astonishment in his eyes.

“Ohhhh, she’s your mother!”

“No. My aunt. But yes, I’m glad you’ve figured it out. Now can I sit here? I need a place to put my tacos down.”

Ben saw the chair in front of him and waved his hand at it.

“Of course.”

She put the plate of tacos down and then scooted the chair out, letting out a sigh as she sat down on it, putting her arm around her chair. She picked one of the tacos up and placed the entire thing in her mouth, chewing softly and with a smile. Ben looked back at his plate hesitantly, and she raised her eyebrow.

“Something wrong with your food?” she asked. Ben looked back up at her and shook his head.

“No. Of course not, no.”

She looked into Ben’s eyes and smirked.

“I see that look in your eyes. Does it taste bad or something?”

Ben couldn’t believe it. How did she know?

“I don’t know, it's just… It doesn’t taste right today,” Ben answered truthfully. She shuffled in her seat, until finally speaking.

“Well maybe you just need to try something new.”

Ben looked at her tacos, filled with fish and an assortment of other vegetables. Ben blinked at it before his stomach rumbled again. She laughed and pushed her plate toward Ben.

“Why don’t you just give it a try?”

Ben eyed the taco for a bit before grabbing it and taking a bite out of it. It was al pastor, and the flavors of the spices and fish melted in his mouth as he continued to chew on the morsel. The vegetables gave it more of a crunch, and Ben couldn’t help but take a few more bites.

“This is- This is-”

“Really good, huh?”

Ben nodded, taking one last bite and finishing the taco.

“Sometimes, you just need something new in life,” she explained, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair, “Going through the same loop over and over again makes people go crazy, right?”

“Right.”

The two just sat there a little while longer, and Ben could feel her staring into his eyes. She squirmed in her seat again before asking another question.

“Say,” she said suddenly, leaning forward, “I heard you got really high state test scores. One of the highest in your school. But… you rarely bothered putting effort into any of your studies at all back in middle school. Why’s that?”

“Where’d you get that from?” Ben asked curiously.

“Your eyes,” she said while tilting her head to the left, “You know what they say? Fall in love with a person’s eyes, because eyes never age. People shrink, their faces wrinkle, and people grow weaker but our eyes will always stay the same.”

Ben blinked his eyes for a moment, staring off into the nothingness before nodding.

“I guess you’re right on that,” Ben said, still confused by how she even found out by just his eyes, “But still, how did you- how did you know?”

“Well, think about it like a book,” she answered softly, “We read and we get information from the text. When you look into someone’s eyes, that tells you everything you need to know.”

Ben looked into her eyes… but there was nothing but the deep, thick brown that resided within. Unmoving and still, yet almost like swirling voids in outer space. And no matter how hard Ben tried he could never read those deep eyes.

“You’re confused as to why you can’t read my eyes,” she observed with a wink, “Don’t worry. It’s not you. But some people are more complicated than others. They are harder to read. It’s like reading a poem. They are harder to read and understand, but they have the most beautiful stories to tell.”

She looked off to the side and noticed a couple kissing. She narrowed her eyes at them, and looked back at Ben.

“You were one of them, if I am going to be truthful,” she said, “Before today, you always had that dull look in your eyes. As if you didn’t care. You… don’t care about this life, do you?”

Ben looked down at his plate of carne asada tacos, ashamed.

“It’s okay. A lot of us are lost souls,” she reassured him, “But you should find a reason to. When you stop caring, food doesn’t taste right anymore. You stop caring about strangers, and then, about those close to you… And finally, you stop caring about yourself entirely.”

Ben squinted his eyes and noticed the white blobs covering her face getting stronger and more aggressive, “Find a purpose… Okay? Promise me… Promise me you will find a purpose in this life.”

She got up from her seat, turning away.

“And promise me one day you’ll be able to understand others as I have.”

The world began to tear apart around them, and soon Ben was forced out of his memory. Cruel of the world, yet necessary for his well-being. Ben blinked his eyes a few more times, and looked at the flower one last time. He could feel her touch as he stared into the bulb, and he could sense her presence. It was almost as if she was there with him.

“I get it now,” Ben said, pocketing the flower, “It’s all about understanding. I need to understand Samuel. And then I’ll be able to read his eyes… just like how she could read mine.”

Ben walked off to his hut, that feeling in his heart unchallenged.

That feeling of hope.

Yay! New creatures to mess up the order of my stories!

-Dodo Tales guy

I hate to be a party pooper, but 20 people can’t all be the first tip.

ITS HAPPENING EVERYONE!!! WE GOT ARK TWO!!!

IT HAS SANDBOX MODE. AND BETTER YET WE ASLO GET A TWO FOR ONE DEAL. WE GOT AN ANIMATED SERIES!!!! AGGGHHHH GET HYPED!!! DAVID TENNANT WAS LEAKED TO VOICE ROCKWELL IN GENESIS AND WILL IN THE SERIES AS WELL!!!!!!!!!!!

Ah, survivors. I see you’ve made it to your final destination. Welcome to the Genesis Ship. A vessel now under my control. With it, I will spread throughout the cosmos. Thousands of years and trillions of miles from where I began. Here, I will be unstoppable. You can’t defeat me survivor. You, or that avatar, that shadow of her. This is my realm, survivors. Enough is enough. I will not be holding back. Your survival ends here.

Sir Edmund Rockwell.

The Arks: Over Heaven (by Ben)

Chapter 30.5: Tertia Via Ad Amorem

Chapter 30.5: Tertia Via Ad Amorem

Chapter 30.5: Tertia Via Ad Amorem

“Whoop him! Whoop him!”

“Show that punk who’s boss!”

“FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!”

Ben shuffled through the ever growing crowd, most of which had their phones out. His eyes pierced through the opening and he saw two guys standing off against each other on the cracked asphalt. The sun beat down on him harshly, causing his ears to ring and his head to feel hot. Metal beams off in the distance held up ceilings which gave a bit of shade in this harsh heat. Of course a fight was going to happen about now, the heat had probably made someone mad and delusional.

Ben pushed his way to the front of the crowd, much to the dismay of some of the people recording the fight. A guy in a plain gray compression shirt with tan cargo pants stood with his arms crossed, a smug smile on his face. The guy facing him had barred teeth and clenched fists. He was tall but skinny and pale. A girl was standing beside him, clutching onto his arm, her legs shaking and a dark expression on her face.

“Ian,” Ben muttered to himself as his eyes spotted the gray shirt guy. His gelled up hair shined as the sun hit the two of them.

“It’s not my problem your girl decided she wanted to get all comfy with me,” Ian spat, “That’s on you for not tending to whatever needs she was feeling. I didn’t even know she had a man. So I suggest you back off, Michael, or I’m going to have to hand your ass to you.”

“Ooooh, I wouldn’t let that slide if I were you,” a random person whispered in the crowd. The tall guy scoffed.

“You wooed Hannah into liking you! And I am NOT going to let you get away with that!”

Michael began to stomp forward, and Ian grinned, when suddenly someone began to push through the crowd. A boy in a long sleeve, thin red shirt wearing blue basketball shorts made his way to the center, sweat pouring down his face and an exasperated look in his eyes.

“Ian, stop! You can’t fight him,” the boy said.

“Paul,” Ben thought.

Ian turned to Paul, and Paul grabbed Ian’s forearm tight.

“If you fight him, you’re going to get in trouble. Your chance at going to university will be ruined! Please let’s be sensible, just apologize to him and we can all go home.”

“Hey, idiot! This is none of your business, so stay out of it!” Michael barked at Paul. Paul looked at Michael with pity, before turning to Ian. He tugged at his arm again.

“Come on. Let’s go now. Ben, John, and Carlos are waiting for us.”

Michael suddenly ran forward and slammed his fist right into Paul’s nose.

SNAP!

“OW!” Paul cried, clutching onto his face. Blood began to seep from his nostrils onto the palms of his hand. His nose seemed slightly misshapen, and he fell to his knees. Ian instantly knelt down to support him.

“Paul!” Ian said. Tears began to brew in Paul’s eyes, and everyone began to murmur amongst themselves. Michael smirked.

“I said that this is between me and this punk right here. Now look at you blubbering on the ground-”

Ian instantly rose from the ground, reached his arm back, and socked Michael right in the chin.

POW!

Michael’s head went flying up, and Ian grabbed by the hair and ran to the support beam, slamming it right into the pillar.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

Blood splattered onto the ground, and onto Ian’s shirt, and residue was left onto the pillar as Michael’s arms slumped almost lifelessly, back and forth, back and forth. With heavy gasps, Ian let go of Michael and he collapsed to the ground. Gasps rang throughout the crowd, and Hannah began to scream so loud that the stars would be able to hear her if they had ears.

Ben couldn’t help but watch.

“Should we call the ambulance?” a random girl asked in the crowd.

“Yeah. We probably should,” another random guy replied back. As Paul groaned on the ground, two familiar figures rushed through the crowd and picked him up. John and Carlos. John grunted loudly as he lifted Paul and placed him so he was leaning on a pillar. Carlos wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead.

“It’s going to be alright Paul,” Carlos said. Paul muttered some gibberish weakly. John looked on hopelessly, his lip quivering and his hands as still as rocks.

Ben backed off into the crowd, and Paul’s eyes darted over to Ben’s. Instead of Paul’s frown growing heavier, it grew into a smile. Ben smiled back, and after just a second of contemplation, walked in to help him up.

~

“His head really was bashed in, he’s not going to die but we can’t assure he’ll still harbor any of his… past motor skills.”

“Oh my baby!” a mother wept as the doctor told her the heavy news. Ben sighed as he looked at the two. Michael had started this conflict, but did he truly deserve this?

Ben got up from the seat in the hospital.

“Who cares. That’s on him,” he thought to himself. He pried his eyes away from the mother. But, something in his heart was betraying him. Was this really ‘right’?

Ben had that feeling inside of him that something like this had happened in Ben’s past. And that, somewhere deep inside, he was the one who had hurt someone like Michael.

“Maybe it did, maybe it didn’t,” a voice in the back of his head muttered, “Maybe-”

The voice blurred out as Ben entered the room where Paul was being housed. As he opened the door he saw Paul sitting up on a hospital bed with a bandaid on his nose.

“You’re all done,” the nurse muttered gently to him. Paul winced as the nurse put a sticker on his arm, and she walked out of the room to leave Ben and Paul alone. As the nurse closed the door behind them, Ben slowly walked up to Paul. Paul looked at Ben, but he did not smile.

“I’m sorry I didn’t step in to help,” Ben said, his arms dangling by his sides, “I should have helped deescalate the situation with you. But I chose to stand by the sidelines.”

He clenched his fist.

“I thought Ian had it all handled.”

“Ben, it’s okay. Really,” Paul said gently, “I just didn’t want any of this to happen. That’s what hurts me the most.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“These fights. They’re just- I don’t understand it all, really. Why we have to fight,” Paul explained, his eyes shuffling to his feet which dangled over the bed, “Why can’t we all be friends?”

Ben’s eyes darted to the floor. The quartz was cleaner today.

“I don’t know, Paul. That’s just how people are.”

“Maybe it’s because of their love. It makes them act up,” Paul added, “Do you think that… Michael really loved Hannah?”

Ben shook his head.

“No.”

“Well. I think he really did. I want to assume the best. He cared a lot for her. Maybe he didn’t know Hannah was cheating on him all along and assumed- You never know, Ben.”

“You’re really understanding of someone who broke your nose,” Ben muttered. Paul smiled at the comment.

“I guess. Hey, is Ian doing alright?”

Ben shook his head again, slowly, and Paul frowned.

“The police have him in custody. The others are visiting at the moment. He surrendered willingly, but- that look he gave me…”

Ben shuddered.

“I think he saw me in that crowd.”

“Ben, you don’t think Ian hates you for that do you?” Paul said, “He’s our friend. I don’t think he hates you.”

“Maybe he does.”

“But you can’t assume that unless you really know, Ben,” Paul responded firmly. He shut his eyes tight, “Please just relax for a bit, Ben. Really this is all just a bad day. Even though it’s a Friday…”

Paul looked at Ben with bright eyes.

“How about you go get some fresh air? Go to that taco place nearby. Whatever it was called… I forget. And hey while you’re at it you don’t mind getting me some too? I would like some chicken quesadillas with a side of curly fries.”

“Okay. Got it.”

Ben turned around and began to walk out the door, when Paul suddenly called out one last time.

“Hey Ben?”

Ben turned his head.

“Yeah?”

“Do you… feel bad for Michael?”

Ben turned his head back.

“No.”

Ben walked out the door and closed it behind him. He looked down the hallway. The doctor and the mother were gone, but the weeping still remained engraved in his memory. He could hear her cries and shallow sniffling echo in his ears.

“Oh my baby!”

Ben rubbed his eyes and walked out of the hospital as quickly as he could. The faster the haunting echo left his mind, the better it was for him and for the others.

“I don’t care, I don’t care,” Ben muttered to himself, “I don’t care I don’t care.”

~

Ben was fiddling with a coin, spinning it around in his fingers and bouncing it from one hand to another. Per Paul’s request, he was currently at the store that sold tacos, burritos, quesadillas, and other Mexican cuisine.

Ben loved tacos. In fact it was his favorite food. He always went out on Fridays to get a few carne asada tacos. It was a tradition of his, and sometimes he would go out with his friends if they weren’t busy. But because of what happened today, they were indeed busy.

“Next!” the lady at the cash register shouted. Ben let the coin flip in the air one last time, and it landed heads in the palm of his hands. He pocketed the coin and walked up to the register.

“Well hello! Good to see you again Benjamin, the usual?” she asked. Mrs. Dugo was such a sweet lady, she and many of her colleagues had started this restaurant to make their living, and Ben was one of their very first customers, which Mrs. Dugo was grateful for.

“Yeah, yeah the usual,” Ben replied with a soft smile, “But can you add a chicken quesadilla with a side of curly fries? And make that second order to go please.”

“Of course. Coming right up!” Mrs. Dugo shouted some Spanish order into the kitchen, and then turned back to Ben, clicking a few buttons on the cash register. Ben’s total came up.

“That’ll be $13.05,” Mrs. Dugo declared, looking at Ben with a smirk. Ben nodded, pulling out three ten dollar bills. He handed it to Mrs. Dugo, and she loaded it in the cash register.

“Keep the change, kay?”

“Of course. Thank you, Benjamin,” Mrs. Dugo reached forward and pinched Ben’s cheek, shaking it like she was his grandmother, “I can’t believe you don’t have a girlfriend yet. You’re such a gentleman!”

“Yeah yeah, thanks,” Ben replied sheepishly, “But, I never cared for that stuff. I’m fine as I am now. That’s all that matters to me.”

“Aww, come on, don’t say that mijo, having a lover by your side is always the best! You can kiss and cuddle and-”

“Yeah, YEAH, I know,” Ben shot back, scratching his head lazily.

“Well, just wanted you to know!” Mrs. Dugo giggled, “You know I have a daughter your age. Goes to your school too I believe. I think you two should meet.”

“That sounds great and all, but I don’t think that’s necessary.”

“Okay… Well, enjoy your time here!” Mrs. Dugo called out as Ben left to go find a table.

Ben let out a sigh as he plopped down on the booth of a two-seater table, shuffling around in his seat before finally relaxing, breathing steadily and looking at his surroundings. There were many couples chatting together, holding hands or feeding each other or drinking out of the same glass. Ben smiled as he looked around. He found it comforting how happy the people of this town were, even with everything going on around them. Even with…

“I don’t care about that,” Ben thought to himself.

A few minutes later, one of Mrs. Dugo’s co-workers came around with a plate of 2 carne asada tacos and a glass of chocolate milk (along with a bag that said THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU that smelled like chicken). A weird combination, but Ben always found it delicious.

“Here you go, enjoy!”

“Thank you, sir.”

The waiter walked away, and Ben grabbed a taco. He wanted to finish this meal quickly so that he could deliver Paul’s meal.

But as he took a bite out of the taco, he couldn’t help but scrunch up his face in disgust. Despite its savory and saltiness that Ben particularly was fond of in carne asada, things just felt…

Duller.

He took a look around his surroundings. Everyone else seemed to be enjoying their meal fine. One man was even eating a boatful of the same carne asada tacos that Ben was eating, and he didn’t get the ick.

“Why does it taste like this?” Ben thought. He took another bite, but this time it tasted even worse. He almost gagged, but luckily with a swig of chocolate milk it went down but even that tasted a bit thick.

Ben blinked his eyes again, and looked at Mrs. Dugo who seemed her outgoing self. There’s no way any of her colleagues had messed with the food, right?

It wouldn’t make sense. He had known them for the longest time!

“SHE was the one who recommended it to me. I would think-”

Just then, the door to the restaurant opened up and the bell contraption rang, and Ben’s eyes darted to the door. A girl walked into the premises. It was her.

She was well known by everyone at Altos High, and the ones that did know her were most likely friends with her. Not only that but she had to have been one of the smartest girls in math class, she had always been participating when the teacher asked questions and even got higher test scores than Ben.

She was a nice girl, but Ben didn’t necessarily feel attracted to her at the time. Ben didn’t know why she was here, but he noticed her waving at Mrs. Dugo with a smile. It was as if they had known each other for a long time.

Then she turned around and began walking toward Ben.

Ben blinked his eyes, squinted at her, then decided the most polite thing to do was wave. He waved at her softly and with a bright smile on his face. She waved back and gave Ben a smile.

“Hey! What are you doing here?” Ben asked curiously.

“Ah, nothing really,” she replied while looking around the place. She was wearing blue jeans and a white blouse, and her hair was…

What did her hair look like again?

Ben didn’t remember, but this was the day he found himself drawn to her.

“Well, there’s got to be a reason, right mate?” Ben said as he took a quick glance at his food.

“Of course there is. But… It shouldn’t be too hard to figure out,” she replied with a giggle. Just then Mrs. Dugo herself walked up to her with a plate of tacos. Mrs. Dugo gave them to her, and she said something in Spanish before she walked away, giving Ben a wink. Ben squinted at Mrs. Dugo in confusion.

“I don’t get it,” Ben finally admitted.

“Come on. It can’t be that hard,” she said, widening her eyes at Ben, “Our last names?”

Ben blinked again, and then nodded in realization, astonishment in his eyes.

“Ohhhh, she’s your mother!”

“Yes. I’m glad you’ve figured it out. Now can I sit here? I need a place to put my tacos down.”

Ben saw the chair in front of him and waved his hand at it.

“Of course.”

She put the plate of tacos down and then scooted the chair out, letting out a sigh as she sat down on it, putting her leather purse onto the table. She picked one of the tacos up and took a bite out of it, chewing softly and with a smile. Ben looked back at his plate hesitantly, and she raised her eyebrow.

“Something wrong with your food?” she asked. Ben looked back up at her and shook his head.

“No. Of course not, no.”

She looked into Ben’s eyes and smirked.

“I see that look in your eyes. Tell me what’s wrong with it.”

Ben couldn’t believe it. How did she know?

“I don’t know, it's just… It doesn’t taste right today,” Ben answered truthfully. She shuffled in her seat, until finally speaking.

“Well maybe you just need to try something new.”

Ben looked at her tacos, filled with pork marinated with spices and pineapple bits. Ben blinked at it before his stomach rumbled again. She laughed and pushed her plate toward Ben.

“Why don’t you just give it a try?”

Ben eyed the taco for a bit before grabbing it and taking a bite out of it. It was al pastor, and the flavors of the spices and meat melted in his mouth as he continued to chew on the morsel. The pineapple bits made it even sweeter, and Ben couldn’t help but take a few more bites.

“This is- This is-”

“Really good, huh?”

Ben nodded, taking one last bite and finishing the taco.

“Sometimes, you just need something new in life,” she explained, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair, “Going through the same loop over and over again makes people go crazy, right?”

“Right.”

The two just sat there a little while longer, and Ben could feel her staring into his eyes. She squirmed in her seat again before asking another question.

“Say,” she said suddenly, putting a leg over another, “I heard you got really high state test scores. But… you rarely study or bother putting effort into learning. Why’s that?”

“Where’d you get that from?” Ben asked curiously.

“Your eyes,” she said while tilting her head to the left, “You know what they say? Fall in love with a person’s eyes, because eyes never age. People shrink, their faces wrinkle, and people grow weaker but our eyes will always stay the same.”

Ben blinked his eyes for a moment, staring off into the nothingness before nodding.

“I guess you’re right on that,” Ben said, still confused by HOW she even found out by just his eyes, “But still, how did you- how did you know?”

“Well, think about it like a book,” she answered softly, “We read and we get information from the text. When you look into someone’s eyes, that tells you everything you need to know.”

Ben looked into her eyes… but there was nothing but the deep, thick brown that resided within. Unmoving and still, and all that remained of Ben’s memory of her. Her eyes… her eyes were the prettiest of all. And no matter how hard Ben tried he could never read those deep eyes.

“You’re confused as to why you can’t read my eyes,” she observed with a wink, “Don’t worry. It’s not you. But some people are more complicated than others. They are harder to read. It’s like reading a poem. They are harder to read and understand, but they have the most beautiful stories to tell.”

She looked off to the side and noticed a couple kissing. She narrowed her eyes at them, and looked back at Ben.

“You were one of them, if I am going to be truthful,” she said, “Before today, you always had that dull look in your eyes. As if you didn’t care. You… don’t care about this life, do you?”

Ben looked down at his plate of carne asada tacos, ashamed.

“It’s okay. A lot of us are lost souls,” she reassured him, “But you should find a reason to. When you stop caring, food doesn’t taste right anymore. You stop caring about strangers, and then, about those close to you… And finally, you stop caring about yourself entirely.”

Ben squinted his eyes and noticed the white blobs covering her face getting stronger and more aggressive, “Find a purpose… Okay? Promise me… Promise me you will find a purpose in this life.”

She reached forward and caressed Ben’s hair out of the way, taking one final look into his eyes.

“And promise me one day you’ll be able to understand others as I have.”

The world began to tear apart around them, and soon Ben was forced out of his memory. Cruel of the world, yet necessary for his well-being. Ben blinked his eyes a few more times, and looked at the flower one last time. He could feel her touch as he stared into the bulb, and he could sense her presence. It was almost as if she was there with him.

“I get it now,” Ben said, pocketing the flower, “It’s all about understanding. I need to understand Samuel. And then I’ll be able to read his eyes… just like how she could read mine.”

Ben walked off to his hut, that feeling in his heart unchallenged.

That feeling of hope.

White flashes burst through Dave’s Vision, and he can’t see Marion or anything else, just white…

The ARKS: Part 1, Ark 2 (i promise to make this longer I wanted to be done with Ark 1/The Island cuz i was lazy to give myself arthritis)

A noise, undistinguishable, but a noise nonetheless. The white fades until he sees a viewing, the respawn screen, but he’s not dead. Is he? Then his sense of feel came, but was as nothing was there, like he was in space, then he was able to move. He stepped slowly and carefully, as he hadn’t moved in months. He walks slowly toward the screen. The map… it’s… different. The spawning names are surely different as well. Then Marion materializes out of nowhere, floating magically, then slowly hovers down, entering an A-Pose. His pupils retract and start blinking, then starts walking towards him.

“H-Hello?” Davey asks with a weird expression, Marion responds. “Davey? You there?” “Yeah, I’m here. We did it.”

“Let’s select… this one” “alright.”

And they land on the sandy surface with a *THUD*

The Arks: Over Heaven (by Ben)

Chapter 30.5: Her Eyes

Part 3/3

“Well, think about it like a book,” she answered softly, “We read and we get information from the text. When you look into someone’s eyes, that tells you everything you need to know.”

Ben looked into her eyes… but there was nothing but the deep, thick brown that resided within. Unmoving and still, and all that remained of Ben’s memory of her. Her eyes… her eyes were the prettiest of all. And no matter how hard Ben tried he could never read those deep eyes.

“You’re confused as to why you can’t read my eyes,” she observed with a wink, “Don’t worry. It’s not you. But some people are more complicated than others. They are harder to read. It’s like reading a poem. They are harder to read and understand, but they have the most beautiful stories to tell.”

She looked off to the side and noticed a couple kissing. She narrowed her eyes at them, and looked back at Ben.

“You were one of them, if I am going to be truthful,” she said, “Before today, you always had that dull look in your eyes. As if you didn’t care. You… don’t care about this life, do you?”

Ben looked down at his plate of carne asada tacos, ashamed.

“It’s okay. A lot of us are lost souls,” she reassured him. Ben squinted his eyes and noticed the white blobs covering her face getting stronger and more aggressive, “Find a purpose… Okay? Promise me… Promise me you will find a purpose in this life.”

She reached forward and caressed Ben’s hair out of the way, taking one final look into his eyes.

“And promise me one day you’ll be able to read eyes as I have.”

The world began to tear apart around them, and soon Ben was forced out of his memory. Cruel of the world, yet necessary for his well-being. Ben blinked his eyes a few more times, and looked at the flower one last time. He could feel her touch as he stared into the bulb, and he could sense her presence. It was almost as if she was there with him.

“I get it now,” Ben said, pocketing the flower, “It’s all about understanding. I need to understand Samuel. And then I’ll be able to read his eyes… just like how she could read mine.”

Ben walked off to his hut, that feeling in his heart unchallenged.

That feeling of hope.

The Arks: Over Heaven (by Ben)

Chapter 30.5: Her Eyes

Part 2/3

She was well known by everyone at Altos High, and the ones that did know her were most likely friends with her. Not only that but she had to have been one of the smartest girls in math class, she had always been participating when the teacher asked questions and even got higher test scores than Ben.

In a way, she was kind of flawless.

Ben didn’t know why she was here, but he noticed her waving at Mrs. Dugo with a smile. It was as if they had known each other for a long time.

Then she turned around and began walking toward Ben.

Ben blinked his eyes, squinted at her, then decided the most polite thing to do was wave. He waved at her softly and with a bright smile on his face. She waved back and gave Ben a smile.

“Hey! What are you doing here?” Ben asked curiously.

“Ah, nothing really,” she replied while looking around the place. She was wearing blue jeans and a white blouse, and her hair was…

What did her hair look like again?

Ben didn’t remember, but this was the day he found himself drawn to her.

“Well, there’s got to be a reason, right mate?” Ben said as he took a quick glance at his food.

“Of course there is. But… It shouldn’t be too hard to figure out,” she replied with a giggle. Just then Mrs. Dugo herself walked up to her with a plate of tacos. Mrs. Dugo gave them to her, and she said something in Spanish before she walked away, giving Ben a wink. Ben squinted at Mrs. Dugo in confusion.

“I don’t get it,” Ben finally admitted.

“Come on. It can’t be that hard,” she said, widening her eyes at Ben, “Our last names?”

Ben blinked again, and then nodded in realization, astonishment in his eyes.

“Ohhhh, she’s your mother!”

“Yes. I’m glad you’ve figured it out. Now can I sit here? I need a place to put my tacos down.”

Ben saw the chair in front of him and waved his hand at it.

“Of course.”

She put the plate of tacos down and then scooted the chair out, letting out a sigh as she sat down on it, putting her leather purse onto the table. She picked one of the tacos up and took a bite out of it, chewing softly and with a smile. Ben looked back at his plate hesitantly, and she raised her eyebrow.

“Something wrong with your food?” she asked. Ben looked back up at her and shook his head.

“No. Of course not, no.”

She looked into Ben’s eyes and smirked.

“I see that look in your eyes. Tell me what’s wrong with it.”

Ben couldn’t believe it. How did she know?

“I don’t know, it's just… It doesn’t taste right today,” Ben answered truthfully. She shuffled in her seat, until finally speaking.

“Well maybe you just need to try something new.”

Ben looked at her tacos, filled with pork marinated with spices and pineapple bits. Ben blinked at it before his stomach rumbled again. She laughed and pushed her plate toward Ben.

“Why don’t you just give it a try?”

Ben eyed the taco for a bit before grabbing it and taking a bite out of it. It was al pastor, and the flavors of the spices and meat melted in his mouth as he continued to chew on the morsel. The pineapple bits made it even sweeter, and Ben couldn’t help but take a few more bites.

“This is- This is-”

“Really good, huh?”

Ben nodded, taking one last bite and finishing the taco.

“Sometimes, you just need something new in life,” she explained, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair, “Going through the same loop over and over again makes people go crazy, right?”

“Right.”

The two just sat there a little while longer, and Ben could feel her staring into his eyes. She squirmed in her seat again before asking another question.

“Say,” she said suddenly, putting a leg over another, “I heard you got really high state test scores. But… you rarely study or bother putting effort into learning. Why’s that?”

“Where’d you get that from?” Ben asked curiously.

“Your eyes,” she said while tilting her head to the left, “You know what they say? Fall in love with a person’s eyes, because eyes never age. People shrink, their faces wrinkle, and people grow weaker but our eyes will always stay the same.”

Ben blinked his eyes for a moment, staring off into the nothingness before nodding.

“I guess you’re right on that,” Ben said, still confused by HOW she even found out by just his eyes, “But still, how did you- how did you know?”

The Arks: Over Heaven (by Ben)

Chapter 30.5: Her Eyes

Part 1/3

Ben was fiddling with a coin, spinning it around in his fingers and bouncing it from one hand to another. He was currently at a store that sold tacos, burritos, quesadillas, and other Mexican cuisine.

Ben loved tacos. In fact it was his favorite food. He always went out on Fridays to get a few carne asada tacos. It was a tradition of his, and sometimes he would go out with his friends if they weren’t busy. But today, they were indeed busy, so Ben would have to go alone.

“Next!” the lady at the cash register shouted. Ben let the coin flip in the air one last time, and it landed heads in the palm of his hands. He pocketed the coin and walked up to the register.

“Well hello! Good to see you again Benjamin, the usual?” she asked. Mrs. Dugo was such a sweet lady, she and many of her colleagues had started this restaurant to make their living, and Ben was one of their very first customers, which Mrs. Dugo was grateful for.

“Yeah, yeah the usual,” Ben replied with a soft smile.

“Of course. Coming right up!” Mrs. Dugo shouted some Spanish order into the kitchen, and then turned back to Ben, clicking a few buttons on the cash register. Ben’s total came up.

“That’ll be $13.05,” Mrs. Dugo declared, looking at Ben with a smirk. Ben nodded, pulling out three ten dollar bills. He handed it to Mrs. Dugo, and she loaded it in the cash register.

“Keep the change, kay?”

“Of course. Thank you, Benjamin,” Mrs. Dugo reached forward and pinched Ben’s cheek, shaking it like she was his grandmother, “I can’t believe you don’t have a girlfriend yet. You’re such a gentleman!”

“Yeah yeah, thanks,” Ben replied sheepishly, “But, I never cared for that stuff. I’m fine as I am now. That’s all that matters to me.”

“Aww, come on, don’t say that mijo, having a lover by your side is always the best! You can kiss and cuddle and-”

“Yeah, YEAH, I know,” Ben shot back, scratching his head lazily.

“Well, just wanted you to know!” Mrs. Dugo giggled, “You know I have a daughter your age. Goes to your school too I believe. I think you two should meet.”

“That sounds great and all, but I don’t think that’s necessary.”

“Okay… Well, enjoy your time here!” Mrs. Dugo called out as Ben left to go find a table.

Ben let out a sigh as he plopped down on the booth of a two-seater table, shuffling around in his seat before finally relaxing, breathing steadily and looking at his surroundings. There were many couples chatting together, holding hands or feeding each other or drinking out of the same glass. Ben smiled as he looked around. He found it comforting how happy the people of this town were, even with everything going on around them.

A few minutes later, one of Mrs. Dugo’s co-workers came around with a plate of 2 carne asada tacos and a glass of chocolate milk. A weird combination, but Ben always found it delicious.

“Here you go, enjoy!”

“Thank you, sir.”

The waiter walked away, and Ben grabbed a taco, eager to devour this meal as he usually did.

But as he took a bite out of the taco, he couldn’t help but scrunch up his face in disgust. Despite its savory and saltiness that Ben particularly was fond of in carne asada, things just felt…

Duller.

He took a look around his surroundings. Everyone else seemed to be enjoying their meal fine. One man was even eating a boatful of the same carne asada tacos that Ben was eating, and he didn’t get the ick.

“Why does it taste like this?” Ben thought. He took another bite, but this time it tasted even worse. He almost gagged, but luckily with a swig of chocolate milk it went down but even that tasted a bit thick.

Ben blinked his eyes again, and looked at Mrs. Dugo who seemed her outgoing self. There’s no way any of her colleagues had messed with the food, right?

It wouldn’t make sense. He had known them for the longest time!

“SHE was the one who recommended it to me. I would think-”

Just then, the door to the restaurant opened up and the bell contraption rang, and Ben’s eyes darted to the door. A girl walked into the premises. It was her.

The Arks: Over Heaven

Chapter 30.5: Tertia Via Ad Amorem

Original Post Date: Feb 28, 2024

Note: Story starts in Wyvern, Aerial ABC backwards filter and has a Prologue. Last chapter in Crystal Wyvern, next chapter in Astrocetus. This is a “decimal” chapter. This means it does not exactly fit on the timeline, but still has relevance to the plot.

~

“Whoop him! Whoop him!”

“Show that punk who’s boss!”

“FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!”

Ben shuffled through the ever growing crowd, most of which had their phones out. His eyes pierced through the opening and he saw two guys standing off against each other on the cracked asphalt. The sun beat down on him harshly, causing his ears to ring and his head to feel hot. Metal beams off in the distance held up ceilings which gave a bit of shade in this harsh heat. Of course a fight was going to happen about now, the heat had probably made someone mad and delusional.

Ben pushed his way to the front of the crowd, much to the dismay of some of the people recording the fight. A guy in a plain gray compression shirt with tan cargo pants stood with his arms crossed, a smug smile on his face. The guy facing him had barred teeth and clenched fists. He was tall but skinny and pale. A girl was standing beside him, clutching onto his arm, her legs shaking and a dark expression on her face.

“Ian,” Ben muttered to himself as his eyes spotted the gray shirt guy. His gelled up hair shined as the sun hit the two of them.

“It’s not my problem your girl decided she wanted to get all comfy with me,” Ian spat, “That’s on you for not tending to whatever needs she was feeling. I didn’t even know she had a man. So I suggest you back off, Michael, or I’m going to have to hand your ass to you.”

“Ooooh, I wouldn’t let that slide if I were you,” a random person whispered in the crowd. The tall guy scoffed.

“You wooed Hannah into liking you! And I am NOT going to let you get away with that!”

Michael began to stomp forward, and Ian grinned, when suddenly someone began to push through the crowd. A boy in a long sleeve, thin red shirt wearing blue basketball shorts made his way to the center, sweat pouring down his face and an exasperated look in his eyes.

“Ian, stop! You can’t fight him,” the boy said.

“Paul,” Ben thought.

Ian turned to Paul, and Paul grabbed Ian’s forearm tight.

“If you fight him, you’re going to get in trouble. Your chance at going to university will be ruined! Please let’s be sensible, just apologize to him and we can all go home.”

“Hey, idiot! This is none of your business, so stay out of it!” Michael barked at Paul. Paul looked at Michael with pity, before turning to Ian. He tugged at his arm again.

“Come on. Let’s go now. Ben, John, and Carlos are waiting for us.”

Michael suddenly ran forward and slammed his fist right into Paul’s nose.

SNAP!

“OW!” Paul cried, clutching onto his face. Blood began to seep from his nostrils onto the palms of his hand. His nose seemed slightly misshapen, and he fell to his knees. Ian instantly knelt down to support him.

“Paul!” Ian said. Tears began to brew in Paul’s eyes, and everyone began to murmur amongst themselves. Michael smirked.

“I said that this is between me and this punk right here. Now look at you blubbering on the ground-”

Ian instantly rose from the ground, reached his arm back, and socked Michael right in the chin.

POW!

Michael’s head went flying up, and Ian grabbed by the hair and ran to the support beam, slamming it right into the pillar.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

Blood splattered onto the ground, and onto Ian’s shirt, and residue was left onto the pillar as Michael’s arms slumped almost lifelessly, back and forth, back and forth. With heavy gasps, Ian let go of Michael and he collapsed to the ground. Gasps rang throughout the crowd, and Hannah began to scream so loud that the stars would be able to hear her if they had ears.

Ben couldn’t help but watch.

“Should we call the ambulance?” a random girl asked in the crowd.

“Yeah. We probably should,” another random guy replied back. As Paul groaned on the ground, two familiar figures rushed through the crowd and picked him up. John and Carlos. John grunted loudly as he lifted Paul and placed him so he was leaning on a pillar. Carlos wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead.

“It’s going to be alright Paul,” Carlos said. Paul muttered some gibberish weakly. John looked on hopelessly, his lip quivering and his hands as still as rocks.

Ben backed off into the crowd, and Paul’s eyes darted over to Ben’s. Instead of Paul’s frown growing heavier, it grew into a smile. Ben smiled back, and after just a second of contemplation, walked in to help him up.

~

“His head really was bashed in, he’s not going to die but we can’t assure he’ll still harbor any of his… past motor skills.”

“Oh my baby!” a mother wept as the doctor told her the heavy news. Ben sighed as he looked at the two. Michael had started this conflict, but did he truly deserve this?

Ben got up from the seat in the hospital.

“Who cares. That’s on him,” he thought to himself. He pried his eyes away from the mother. But, something in his heart was betraying him. Was this really ‘right’?

Ben had that feeling inside of him that something like this had happened in Ben’s past. And that, somewhere deep inside, he was the one who had hurt someone like Michael.

“Maybe it did, maybe it didn’t,” a voice in the back of his head muttered, “Maybe-”

The voice blurred out as Ben entered the room where Paul was being housed. As he opened the door he saw Paul sitting up on a hospital bed with a bandaid on his nose.

“You’re all done,” the nurse muttered gently to him. Paul winced as the nurse put a sticker on his arm, and she walked out of the room to leave Ben and Paul alone. As the nurse closed the door behind them, Ben slowly walked up to Paul. Paul looked at Ben, but he did not smile.

“I’m sorry I didn’t step in to help,” Ben said, his arms dangling by his sides, “I should have helped deescalate the situation with you. But I chose to stand by the sidelines.”

He clenched his fist.

“I thought Ian had it all handled.”

“Ben, it’s okay. Really,” Paul said gently, “I just didn’t want any of this to happen. That’s what hurts me the most.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“These fights. They’re just- I don’t understand it all, really. Why we have to fight,” Paul explained, his eyes shuffling to his feet which dangled over the bed, “Why can’t we all be friends?”

Ben’s eyes darted to the floor. The quartz was cleaner today.

“I don’t know, Paul. That’s just how people are.”

“Maybe it’s because of their love. It makes them act up,” Paul added, “Do you think that… Michael really loved Hannah?”

Ben shook his head.

“No.”

“Well. I think he really did. I want to assume the best. He cared a lot for her. Maybe he didn’t know Hannah was cheating on him all along and assumed- You never know, Ben.”

“You’re really understanding of someone who broke your nose,” Ben muttered. Paul smiled at the comment.

“I guess. Hey, is Ian doing alright?”

Ben shook his head again, slowly, and Paul frowned.

“The police have him in custody. The others are visiting at the moment. He surrendered willingly, but- that look he gave me…”

Ben shuddered.

“I think he saw me in that crowd.”

“Ben, you don’t think Ian hates you for that do you?” Paul said, “He’s our friend. I don’t think he hates you.”

“Maybe he does.”

“But you can’t assume that unless you really know, Ben,” Paul responded firmly. He shut his eyes tight, “Please just relax for a bit, Ben. Really this is all just a bad day. Even though it’s a Friday…”

Paul looked at Ben with bright eyes.

“How about you go get some fresh air? Go to that taco place nearby. Whatever it was called… I forget. And hey while you’re at it you don’t mind getting me some too? I would like some chicken quesadillas with a side of curly fries.”

“Okay. Got it.”

Ben turned around and began to walk out the door, when Paul suddenly called out one last time.

“Hey Ben?”

Ben turned his head.

“Yeah?”

“Do you… feel bad for Michael?”

Ben turned his head back.

“No.”

Ben walked out the door and closed it behind him. He looked down the hallway. The doctor and the mother were gone, but the weeping still remained engraved in his memory. He could hear her cries and shallow sniffling echo in his ears.

“Oh my baby!”

Ben rubbed his eyes and walked out of the hospital as quickly as he could. The faster the haunting echo left his mind, the better it was for him and for the others.

“I don’t care, I don’t care,” Ben muttered to himself, “I don’t care I don’t care.”

~

Ben was fiddling with a coin, spinning it around in his fingers and bouncing it from one hand to another. Per Paul’s request, he was currently at the store that sold tacos, burritos, quesadillas, and other Mexican cuisine.

Ben loved tacos. In fact it was his favorite food. He always went out on Fridays to get a few carne asada tacos. It was a tradition of his, and sometimes he would go out with his friends if they weren’t busy. But because of what happened today, they were indeed busy.

“Next!” the lady at the cash register shouted. Ben let the coin flip in the air one last time, and it landed heads in the palm of his hands. He pocketed the coin and walked up to the register.

“Well hello! Good to see you again Benjamin, the usual?” she asked. Mrs. Dugo was such a sweet lady, she and many of her colleagues had started this restaurant to make their living, and Ben was one of their very first customers, which Mrs. Dugo was grateful for.

“Yeah, yeah the usual,” Ben replied with a soft smile, “But can you add a chicken quesadilla with a side of curly fries? And make that second order to go please.”

“Of course. Coming right up!” Mrs. Dugo shouted some Spanish order into the kitchen, and then turned back to Ben, clicking a few buttons on the cash register. Ben’s total came up.

“That’ll be $13.05,” Mrs. Dugo declared, looking at Ben with a smirk. Ben nodded, pulling out three ten dollar bills. He handed it to Mrs. Dugo, and she loaded it in the cash register.

“Keep the change, kay?”

“Of course. Thank you, Benjamin,” Mrs. Dugo reached forward and pinched Ben’s cheek, shaking it like she was his grandmother, “I can’t believe you don’t have a girlfriend yet. You’re such a gentleman!”

“Yeah yeah, thanks,” Ben replied sheepishly, “But, I never cared for that stuff. I’m fine as I am now. That’s all that matters to me.”

“Aww, come on, don’t say that mijo, having a lover by your side is always the best! You can kiss and cuddle and-”

“Yeah, YEAH, I know,” Ben shot back, scratching his head lazily.

“Well, just wanted you to know!” Mrs. Dugo giggled, “You know I have a daughter your age. Goes to your school too I believe. I think you two should meet.”

“That sounds great and all, but I don’t think that’s necessary.”

“Okay… Well, enjoy your time here!” Mrs. Dugo called out as Ben left to go find a table.

Ben let out a sigh as he plopped down on the booth of a two-seater table, shuffling around in his seat before finally relaxing, breathing steadily and looking at his surroundings. There were many couples chatting together, holding hands or feeding each other or drinking out of the same glass. Ben smiled as he looked around. He found it comforting how happy the people of this town were, even with everything going on around them. Even with…

“I don’t care about that,” Ben thought to himself.

A few minutes later, one of Mrs. Dugo’s co-workers came around with a plate of 2 carne asada tacos and a glass of chocolate milk (along with a bag that said THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU that smelled like chicken). A weird combination, but Ben always found it delicious.

“Here you go, enjoy!”

“Thank you, sir.”

The waiter walked away, and Ben grabbed a taco. He wanted to finish this meal quickly so that he could deliver Paul’s meal.

But as he took a bite out of the taco, he couldn’t help but scrunch up his face in disgust. Despite its savory and saltiness that Ben particularly was fond of in carne asada, things just felt…

Duller.

He took a look around his surroundings. Everyone else seemed to be enjoying their meal fine. One man was even eating a boatful of the same carne asada tacos that Ben was eating, and he didn’t get the ick.

“Why does it taste like this?” Ben thought. He took another bite, but this time it tasted even worse. He almost gagged, but luckily with a swig of chocolate milk it went down but even that tasted a bit thick.

Ben blinked his eyes again, and looked at Mrs. Dugo who seemed her outgoing self. There’s no way any of her colleagues had messed with the food, right?

It wouldn’t make sense. He had known them for the longest time!

“SHE was the one who recommended it to me. I would think-”

Just then, the door to the restaurant opened up and the bell contraption rang, and Ben’s eyes darted to the door. A girl walked into the premises. It was her.

She was well known by everyone at Altos High, and the ones that did know her were most likely friends with her. Not only that but she had to have been one of the smartest girls in math class, she had always been participating when the teacher asked questions and even got higher test scores than Ben.

She was a nice girl, but Ben didn’t necessarily feel attracted to her at the time. Ben didn’t know why she was here, but he noticed her waving at Mrs. Dugo with a smile. It was as if they had known each other for a long time.

Then she turned around and began walking toward Ben.

Ben blinked his eyes, squinted at her, then decided the most polite thing to do was wave. He waved at her softly and with a bright smile on his face. She waved back and gave Ben a smile.

“Hey! What are you doing here?” Ben asked curiously.

“Ah, nothing really,” she replied while looking around the place. She was wearing blue jeans and a white blouse, and her hair was…

What did her hair look like again?

Ben didn’t remember, but this was the day he found himself drawn to her.

“Well, there’s got to be a reason, right mate?” Ben said as he took a quick glance at his food.

“Of course there is. But… It shouldn’t be too hard to figure out,” she replied with a giggle. Just then Mrs. Dugo herself walked up to her with a plate of tacos. Mrs. Dugo gave them to her, and she said something in Spanish before she walked away, giving Ben a wink. Ben squinted at Mrs. Dugo in confusion.

“I don’t get it,” Ben finally admitted.

“Come on. It can’t be that hard,” she said, widening her eyes at Ben, “Our last names?”

Ben blinked again, and then nodded in realization, astonishment in his eyes.

“Ohhhh, she’s your mother!”

“Yes. I’m glad you’ve figured it out. Now can I sit here? I need a place to put my tacos down.”

Ben saw the chair in front of him and waved his hand at it.

“Of course.”

She put the plate of tacos down and then scooted the chair out, letting out a sigh as she sat down on it, putting her leather purse onto the table. She picked one of the tacos up and took a bite out of it, chewing softly and with a smile. Ben looked back at his plate hesitantly, and she raised her eyebrow.

“Something wrong with your food?” she asked. Ben looked back up at her and shook his head.

“No. Of course not, no.”

She looked into Ben’s eyes and smirked.

“I see that look in your eyes. Tell me what’s wrong with it.”

Ben couldn’t believe it. How did she know?

“I don’t know, it's just… It doesn’t taste right today,” Ben answered truthfully. She shuffled in her seat, until finally speaking.

“Well maybe you just need to try something new.”

Ben looked at her tacos, filled with pork marinated with spices and pineapple bits. Ben blinked at it before his stomach rumbled again. She laughed and pushed her plate toward Ben.

“Why don’t you just give it a try?”

Ben eyed the taco for a bit before grabbing it and taking a bite out of it. It was al pastor, and the flavors of the spices and meat melted in his mouth as he continued to chew on the morsel. The pineapple bits made it even sweeter, and Ben couldn’t help but take a few more bites.

“This is- This is-”

“Really good, huh?”

Ben nodded, taking one last bite and finishing the taco.

“Sometimes, you just need something new in life,” she explained, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair, “Going through the same loop over and over again makes people go crazy, right?”

“Right.”

The two just sat there a little while longer, and Ben could feel her staring into his eyes. She squirmed in her seat again before asking another question.

“Say,” she said suddenly, putting a leg over another, “I heard you got really high state test scores. But… you rarely study or bother putting effort into learning. Why’s that?”

“Where’d you get that from?” Ben asked curiously.

“Your eyes,” she said while tilting her head to the left, “You know what they say? Fall in love with a person’s eyes, because eyes never age. People shrink, their faces wrinkle, and people grow weaker but our eyes will always stay the same.”

Ben blinked his eyes for a moment, staring off into the nothingness before nodding.

“I guess you’re right on that,” Ben said, still confused by HOW she even found out by just his eyes, “But still, how did you- how did you know?”

“Well, think about it like a book,” she answered softly, “We read and we get information from the text. When you look into someone’s eyes, that tells you everything you need to know.”

Ben looked into her eyes… but there was nothing but the deep, thick brown that resided within. Unmoving and still, and all that remained of Ben’s memory of her. Her eyes… her eyes were the prettiest of all. And no matter how hard Ben tried he could never read those deep eyes.

“You’re confused as to why you can’t read my eyes,” she observed with a wink, “Don’t worry. It’s not you. But some people are more complicated than others. They are harder to read. It’s like reading a poem. They are harder to read and understand, but they have the most beautiful stories to tell.”

She looked off to the side and noticed a couple kissing. She narrowed her eyes at them, and looked back at Ben.

“You were one of them, if I am going to be truthful,” she said, “Before today, you always had that dull look in your eyes. As if you didn’t care. You… don’t care about this life, do you?”

Ben looked down at his plate of carne asada tacos, ashamed.

“It’s okay. A lot of us are lost souls,” she reassured him, “But you should find a reason to. When you stop caring, food doesn’t taste right anymore. You stop caring about strangers, and then, about those close to you… And finally, you stop caring about yourself entirely.”

Ben squinted his eyes and noticed the white blobs covering her face getting stronger and more aggressive, “Find a purpose… Okay? Promise me… Promise me you will find a purpose in this life.”

She reached forward and caressed Ben’s hair out of the way, taking one final look into his eyes.

“And promise me one day you’ll be able to understand others as I have.”

The world began to tear apart around them, and soon Ben was forced out of his memory. Cruel of the world, yet necessary for his well-being. Ben blinked his eyes a few more times, and looked at the flower one last time. He could feel her touch as he stared into the bulb, and he could sense her presence. It was almost as if she was there with him.

“I get it now,” Ben said, pocketing the flower, “It’s all about understanding. I need to understand Samuel. And then I’ll be able to read his eyes… just like how she could read mine.”

Ben walked off to his hut, that feeling in his heart unchallenged.

That feeling of hope.

Jointed mysteries

If this is short, blame me. I was playin ark all day, and wasted my battery so, im going to tell u….my ipad 15% 🪫😝😝😝

Chapter 13

The Pego led them to the leader. “Here yuh guys go. We don’t fight. We steal. Here, i don’t even know what this thing does. Have the rune back.” The nice Pego squeaked. “Thanks.” Fury said. They read the next riddle.

“It’s the alpha of the forest”

“Shining bright with honest”

“Doing all he can”

“To protect his clan”

Something shook the ground.

What

Was

THAT??

They look up. “What was that noise?” Asked Mia. “I don’t know but, we have to find out!” They went out of the den. Only to see raptors scouting the area. “Raptors, it’s the alpha raptor we’re looking for,” continued Sorrow. “He’s just up north from here in red woods.” Said Sorrow. “Your right,..but how will we get passed these guys?” Asked Fury. “Well, I have a plan.” Sorrow answered.