The Arks: Over Heaven

Chapter 24: Carnotaurus Carnage

Original Post Date: Feb 14, 2024

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

~

“The plan is for four of you to go out in pairs to tame these creatures that I’m sure will aid us greatly,” Skyler explained while sitting down on a log, “Samuel, Ruby, Ben, and Gary are going to go out.”

Neddy raised his hand.

“Hey, what about me? I wanna go too,” Neddy volunteered.

“Yeah, let him come with us!” Ruby pleaded with Skyler. Skyler shook her head.

“No. Neddy is going to be tasked with something else. You are going to help scout out the surrounding area for us with Aurora. Where’s Aurora?”

“Aurora’s sick,” Ben interjected while tossing a rock up and down, “So she’s going to be sleeping in.”

“Psh. Okay, whatever. I would’ve wanted her to go with Neddy to help chart the area and navigate,” Skyler sneered, “But that’s fine. Neddy will just stay behind and help defend the camp from aggressive dinosaurs.”

“But why can’t Neddy come with us?” Ruby asked with anger in her voice.

“Because it doesn’t make sense for him to go with you,” Skyler replied while rolling her eyes, “Samuel and Ruby will go out to find a Carnotaurus or two. Horned, beasts with stubby arms and powerful pug-like jaws. If you travel into the jungle I’m sure you’ll find them easily.”

“What? But why do I have to go with Samuel?!” Ruby complained.

“Because, his smarts combined with your crossbow will allow you to knock out that Carnotaurus faster. The Carnotaurus are fast and dangerous, which is why I’m tasking you two for that creature. Besides, where Ben and Gary are going somewhere else.”

Skyler walked up to Ben and Gary.

“You two will be going to the swamp, where the Kaprosuchus lurks beneath the waters. A crocodilian-like creature, it might be able to ambush you very easily. But I know you two can easily domesticate it with your abilities.”

“The swamp? Isn’t that place really dangerous?” Samuel asked as he crossed his arms.

“Yes, but there’s a reason I’m putting you in pairs and there’s a reason I’m sending Ben and Gary only to the swamp,” Skyler shot back.

“It’ll be fine, Samuel, and Skyler is right. If we bring more people we can’t guarantee we don’t come out without casualties,” Ben added on. He clenched his fist, and vines began to grow out of his sleeve and ensnare his limb.

“Plant manipulation. It’s very useful in the swamp, where there’s algae and weird plants all over the place,” Ben replied, “That’s how I found you and your group so fast. I took the swamp. Don’t sweat it, Samuel, we can take it from here.”

“Well what are you all waiting for? Make a move on already!” Skyler barked. With that, the four took their leave to domesticate these prehistoric beasts.

~

“Ughh, it’s so hot here in the jungle!” Ruby groaned as they tread through thick foliage.

“Quit complaining. And stop talking, that’ll only make you thirstier,” Samuel glared, “Or you can take a berry break. You know those berries have a good amount of water in them.”

“I might as well,” Ruby grinned as she reached into her pouch.

While Ruby snacked on dozens of berries, Samuel leaned against a thick tree and couldn’t help but wonder about Skyler, and most importantly her implant attribute.

“We never told Skyler our implant abilities, yet somehow she knows about them already?” Samuel wondered as he peered into the sky. He could see a Pteranodon flying overhead, “It doesn’t make sense. But it’s the least of my worries. I still need to find Tiffany, and fast. I hope she isn’t dead.”

Samuel considered asking Aurora to help draw a map, that way Samuel would know which areas to scout out in hopes of finding this mystery lady, but considering what happened last night it didn’t seem very appropriate…

“I’ll leave her alone for now,” Samuel thought with guilt on his face, “I hope she doesn’t hate me too much for what happened. I’d hate losing an ally like her.”

“Alright, I’m done!” Ruby interrupted Samuel, “Let’s get a move on.”

“Okay.”

The two continued trekking into the jungle, until eventually Ruby gave Samuel a big grin.

“So. Wanna tell us why you did what you did last night?” Ruby giggled with a grin, “I didn’t know you were such a player. I thought you liked Aurora.”

“You heard all of that?” Samuel gasped with wide eyes.

“Of course I did. Neddy’s snoring kept me up for a bit before I was even able to get to bed, that loud mouth!” Ruby glared while clenching her fist.

“Shouldn’t you be more concerned about your boyfriend Neddy than my affairs?” Samuel asked with anger.

“Uh, he isn’t my boyfriend,” Ruby laughed nervously, putting her hands in her pockets, “Where’d you get that from? Ben or something? You know you can’t trust that guy, he doesn’t know nothing about love!”

“I just want to know why you want to meddle in my business.”

“No reason, I just think it spices things up a bit, you know? Sometimes life isn’t about fighting dinosaurs. Sometimes it’s about the juicy drama and gossip,” Ruby said while putting her hands in her pockets.

Something about that last sentence made Samuel uncomfortable, because it reminded him of Nova.

“That does sound pretty cool, but things will be so boring now! We won’t see any more school fights or get any juicy gossip!” Nova had complained at the graduation ceremony.

“Cat got your tongue?” Ruby teased, “I see that look on your face. Aurora would have never fallen if it weren’t for you. You did something to make her fall in love with you.”

“I highly doubt it,” Samuel replied, blinking his eyes and wiping sweat off his face, “I did nothing. It was all on her own accord.”

“Well maybe you did do something. You just don’t know it for sure, because you’re a freak who’s never felt love before,” Ruby said, “No offense. That’s just the vibe I get from you.”

“Ouch, dude,” Samuel replied, his eyes darting to the jungle floor.

“Well, you know what they say,” Ruby added on, “Love is blind.”

“That’s not what the saying means,” Samuel quickly shot back, “Love is blind states that whenever we love someone, we don’t see any flaws within them-”

“Oooooooooh,” Ruby said while pointing her finger at Samuel, “I guess you DO know something about love. I guess you are a player. Or maybe, maybe you really do like Aurora but are too afraid to do anything about it-”

“SHUT up,” Samuel shouted back, “Just because I know about it doesn’t mean I partake in those activities. So LEAVE it be.”

Rahhhh.

“Uhhh, what was that?” Ruby asked as white washed over her face.

“Might be what we’re looking for,” Samuel replied. He dived into a bush, “Take out your crossbow just in case.”

Ruby reached for the crossbow that was attached to a quiver on his back and took it out. She nocked a few arrows dipped in a special narcotic that could knock any creature out unconscious. Then she hid behind a tree, pulling the string back.

“What is it, Samuel?” Ruby whispered as softly as she could.

“It’s what we’re looking for,” Samuel muttered.

Standing in the distance was a giant, horned beast with stubby arms and thick, powerful legs. Its tail swished back and forth as it walked around, looking for something to hunt and kill for its next meal. Its jaws looked like that of a pug and it had two short horns planted on its head. It was a sort of greenish-white, its skin making it partially blend in with the jungle.

“Okay, shoot your shot,” Samuel replied, “It doesn’t even know we’re here.”

Wordlessly, Ruby aimed her crossbow at the head of the Carnotaurus and pressed the trigger. Swoosh! The arrow pierced the jaw of the beast, and it let out a roar and began to run around frantically.

“Nice, but I think you need to shoot it a few more times,” Samuel suggested. Ruby aimed again, and shot another arrow. Pew! The arrow hit the beast’s torso, and now it was getting aggravated. It began to ram trees down in an attempt to find the attacker. Too bad for the stupid beast its foes were from a far and safe distance that it would never be able to spot it.

Yet despite this it still continued to run amok.

“Wow, this thing still hasn’t gone down yet. Shoot it one more time,” Samuel said. Ruby nodded, aimed at the Carnotaurus one last time, and pressed the trigger. Wew! Plick! One more arrow, and the Carnotaurus began to show signs of drowsiness. It stumbled around, until at last it collapsed to the ground.

Ruby pumped her fist in the air.

“Yes, I did it!”

The two slowly approached the fallen beast, and sure enough it was knocked out cold. It was breathing slowly, but who knew how long it’d take before it’d wake up? They would have to feed it fast. Samuel and Ruby took out slabs of raw meat from their pouches and began to feed it to the Carnotaurus.

For the next few minutes, they kept on feeding it and feeding it, until eventually the beast’s eyes shot open. Ruby let out a gasp and tripped backwards, but as the Carnotaurus got back on its powerful legs, it didn’t seem to pose any threat to them. It walked forward and sniffed Ruby’s face a little, before sneezing all over her like some sort of dog.

“Oh, well, heh heh, it’s tamed! I guess?” Ruby said, scratching her head.

“What do you want to name it?” Samuel asked, “I was thinking Spark. Because it’s like a spark of aggression.”

“Heck no, that doesn’t fit it,” Ruby replied, “Let’s name it… Goofy.”

“Goofy?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t know about that…”

“Well do you have any other suggestions, player?” Ruby sneered, “Yeah, that’s what I thought. So Goofy it is!”

Goofy didn’t really seem to care.

“Ha ha, I think it likes the name. He likes the name. I think he’s a guy, you’re a guy, right? I don’t wanna check.”

Goofy blinked.

“Well I guess that’s a yes, come on, let’s go back to camp now, I’m sure that Skyler girl will be pleased,” Ruby said. She began to walk off, putting her crossbow back in her quiver and flipping her red-black hair. Goofy followed her, and so did Samuel, but as Samuel looked behind him, he saw a red haze burst out beyond the treelines, before quickly fading away.

“It’s back,” Samuel muttered as he felt his heart hammer against his chest. He looked away, trying to ignore it at all costs. It HAD to be his imagination.

It had to be.

~

“Hm, that’s not good.”

The flapping of wings and the croak of a Pteranodon pierced the sky. Riding above it was a boy in a suit of armor made of bugs’ chitin. He was looking into a spyglass and peering deep into the jungle, where he could spot a boy and a girl walking out of the jungle with a Carnotaurus following obediently. He put his spyglass away and tugged at the reins of the Pteranodon’s saddle. He blinked his emerald green eyes, and pushed back his long, luscious black hair.

“I better go tell Mr. Mo about this.”

The Pteranodon flapped its wings and began to fly away, up north of the island and toward an arctic biome filled with snow…