The Arks: Over Heaven (by Ben)

Chapter 45: Manticore

Part 1/2

Creak. Creaaak.

“Ugh. It’s so darn stanky in here,” Loki thought as he gagged. He found himself twisting and turning in bed, the bed below his creaking and turning as he did. The house that had burned down had unfortunately been a living quarters, and Mr. Mo had the very pleasant idea to have everyone stay in the other living quarter as they waited for reconstruction of the house.

Now the air was like smog. The snoring from all corners of the house didn’t really help either. Loki didn’t think he would hate heat after being in the cold for so long, but this situation definitely proved him wrong.

Loki turned again. Creak. Even with a fluffed pillow and a nice mattress (designed by Dr. Aston himself), it felt so uncomfortable. Loki hated it. He wanted to be outside, sleeping under the stars, enjoying the view and feeling the wind across his face. But Mr. Mo had warned him that he’d freeze his fingers off. Loki didn’t want his fingers to be frozen off. That wouldn’t be very nice.

“Something on your mind up there?” the person on the bottom bunk asked politely, “Or are both sides of your pillow just really warm?”

Loki blinked his eyes, adjusting himself so his back was rested on the mattress and his eyes were looking at the ceiling.

“Some people just don’t know personal hygiene.”

The person below let out a hearty laugh, shaking the bunk bed some more.

“Ah ha ha, you’re so right. That may be my lackeys. Spending too much time practicing for football back home they forget all about showering. I try to remind them, but it always goes in one ear and out the other with those guys. They aren’t very bright.”

“Oh is that so?” Loki said, as he could feel his face turning green in disgust.

There was a pause in the conversation.

“Loki, right?”

Loki frowned. Soon he’d be shamed for his close loyalty to Mr. Mo.

“Yeah. Loki.”

“Hm. Awesome. I’ve seen you with Mr. Mo before, going out on a lot of missions. He does take an appreciation to you I can tell. That’s pretty cool.”

Loki smiled, his head moving to the side to look down at the stone floor.

“Really?”

“Yeah really. Mr. Mo’s a great guy so that must mean you’re a good guy.”

“Heh. Thanks. Thanks a lot.”

Loki shifted in his bed, “Well what about you stranger? What’s your name?”

“Ha! Someone who doesn’t know me!” the stranger laughed, “That’s new. You must not have been into sports at Terran High. I’m the varsity football team’s quarterback.”

“Is that supposed to be impressive?” Loki snorted, “Sorry. Don’t know anything about football.”

“Yeah, it is,” the stranger replied, “He calls all the shots, the quarterback. In a way he’s like the team captain, but out on the field. Leader of offense, they play a really important role. I’ll tell ‘ya right now it’s so important that if you’re a good quarterback, it’s pretty darn easy to get into college.”

“Really?”

“Yeah really. Most private universities have their own set of standards on who they want on their side. Some prestigious university out east called ‘Rockwell’s Keep’ wanted to recruit me for free. I couldn’t pass it up.”

He let out a sigh.

“Too bad we’re here instead of where we should be. But what about you? Play any sports?”

“Tsk, yeah. I was on Varsity Tennis. Team captain, if you’ll believe it. Third best in Class of 2027.”

“Tennis huh?” he said with wonder, “They say that’s a wimp’s sport.”

“Yeah I know, but it’s fun and all that matters to me.”

“I don’t think it’s a wimp’s sport, Loki. Requires lots of stamina. And if you can run for hours on end with no breaks, then you’re not a wimp. Say, what do you mean by third best if you’re team captain?”

“Well for starters I’m sure you know the valedictorian was Varsity Tennis girl’s team’s team captain,” Loki answered truthfully, “She’s second best.”

“The nerd? Psh, well that’s expected. But who’s THE best?”

“I don’t know his name.”

“What?! How do you not know his name if he’s the best?”

“Man I don’t know! It’s really forgettable- I think it started with a B?” Loki said, “Well, all I know is he beat me AND Aurora badly. He had me running like no tomorrow and managed to catch Aurora off-guard with his techniques. It was like none we’d ever seen before, our school definitely didn’t train him. I think he was new too. Recently appeared at the beginning of senior year.”

“Huh. So if he’s that good how come he’s not captain?”