The Arks: Over Heaven (by Ben)

Chapter 43: Skylord

Part 1/3

“Are you ready?” Mr. Mo asked Loki as Loki slowly adjusted his helmet. Loki twirled his two karambits and hooked them. He put his arm in the air and gave him a thumbs up.

“Yeah of course,” Loki replied. Mr. Mo remained in his fur suit, and he brushed some snow off his shoulder plates. He let out a heavy cough and put his hand out to excuse himself.

“Just a moment. I need to give out orders, and we’ll be on our way to the cave.”

Mr. Mo walks into the compound, then walks out hastily with two longneck rifles in hand. He walked over to Brad and his goons, and for the next few minutes gave them some orders. He hands the rifles over to the group, grabs some darts from his pockets, and pours them into their eager hands. Mr. Mo turned around and walked over to Loki.

Loki looked at Brad and squinted his eyes, crossing his arms and shaking his head in disapproval. He turned to Mr. Mo, furious.

“Why exactly are we giving them those rifles?” Loki asked.

“I’ve tasked them with taming a few creatures around the area. Argentavis for mobility and Mammoths for wood,” Mr. Mo answered. He waved his hand and began to walk to the pens. Loki followed.

“Mr. Mo with all due respect,” Loki chided, “Those guys aren’t even going to bother stepping foot outside our territory. How will we know they’ll even stay on task?”

“Dr. Aston will make sure they do what they’re told. I trust he can supervise them,” Mr. Mo assured Loki, “Now let’s go. What they do is Dr. Aston’s problem, not ours.”

Loki hesitantly mounted Monarch, and Mr. Mo mounted Slackjaw. The two took off to the skies, and began to travel north.

As the duo traveled, Loki noticed the many fauna wandering the tundra. Through thick snowfall, Loki could see Woolly Mammoths and Rhinos trotting through their home, grazing off the little grass there was and the large, barren trees of the snow. Wolves ran through the snow, their cries shattering the air. Loki smiled at the sight of wolves.

“Say, Loki,” Mr. Mo noted, “You don’t seem too bothered by the cold.”

Loki turned to Mr. Mo with a gentle smile.

“Well, I was born in the snow,” Loki responded. He tugged on the reins some more, and as they flew closer to the tundra coasts, they could see icebergs floating in the water, aimlessly wandering the sea. Penguins with black fur and white chests swam through the water, pecking and playing with each other. Tucked off in the corner of a cliffside of ice was a cavern that seemed too small to be noticeable.

“Is that it?” Loki asked, pointing at the entrance.

“Yes it is, Loki.”

The two land their Pteranodons near the entrance of the cave, and begin to make their way inside. As they go inside, the chilling cold pierces the fur armor Mr. Mo’s wearing. Mr. Mo shivers, taking a few deep breaths in and out as they venture further into the cave. A wisp of mist exits Mr. Mo’s mouth as he breathes in and out.

“It sure is cold in here,” Mr. Mo muttered, clenching his fists. His dark brown eyes looked like they were turning blue from the cold.

“Are you going to be okay?” Loki asked with worry, his eyebrow furrowed and his eyes pinned at the goosebumps lining his face. Mr. Mo turned to Loki and winked.

“Yeah. All good for the old man.”

Loki smirks, and continues walking into the ice. The ice made crunching noises as they traveled beyond.

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

Whispers of wind floated in the air, and soon the path diverged into three. A three-pronged fork, if Mr. Mo had ever seen one. Loki looked at each path, evaluating where they should go next.

“A maze,” Mr. Mo growled, clenching his fists, “How inconvenient.”

“Not quite,” Loki said with a sly smile. Cunning as always, he pointed to the left pathway. “When faced with a maze, you should always hug the wall-”

Mr. Mo put his arms out and planted them onto the wall.

“Like this?” Mr. Mo asked with his pearly whites out.

“What? No! That’s not what I mean,” Loki groaned, slapping his face.

“Ah ha ha ha ha! I’m joking, I know what you mean,” Mr. Mo retorted with a snort. He began to walk down the left pathway.

As they made their way through the icicle littered cave, the cavern suddenly began to grow wider. Mr. Mo paused in his tracks, halting Loki as well. Loki looked past Mr. Mo’s shoulder impatiently.

“What’s the hold up-”