The Arks: Over Heaven

Chapter 21: Familiar Faces

Part 2/4

“Hey, you two,” Samuel called out the two. The two looked up, and the boy waved while the goth girl just raised her eyebrow.

“What do you want?” the goth girl asked sternly.

“Relax, Paige, they are probably new people here, I think Ben brought them here, as Tiffany had requested,” the boy beamed with joy. Paige squinted her eyes at Samuel, then walked up to the two.

“Well this is just freakin’ great. We got the sassy little valedictorian here with some rude chump who thinks he owns the place. Who do you think you are?” Paige sneered. Aurora stared at Paige with discontent.

“Paige!” the boy warned, “Don’t be mean.”

“I do whatever I want, Chris,” Paige snarled back. Just like Ben, they also had stone tools on their belts, but Paige had a club strung to her back that looked like it could knock someone out with one fell swoop. She also had a black shirt with the words “Goth Power” plastered on it. Samuel didn’t even know you could make a shirt like that here on this island.

“I don’t mean to be rude,” Samuel reassured her.

“Don’t care. What’s your business here?”

“Nothing, we just wanted to say hello,” Aurora scoffed, “Jeez. What’s your damn problem?”

“Whatever. Sorry, I guess,” Paige replied while rolling her eyes, “I’m Paige.”

“I’m Samuel,” Samuel introduced himself, “This here’s my ally Aurora.”

Then Samuel picked up Star, showing her to the two proudly.

“And this here is my buddy Star.”

“A dodo bird? Really?” Paige said with unamusement.

“Yes.”

Chris’ face brightened as he saw the dodo bird.

“Hey, I have one too!” Chris said cheerily. Star looked like she was about to gag, “Although, he’s not very bright.”

Chris looked over at a dodo bird that had an abnormally big beak. It seemed to struggle to walk, and it constantly bumped into the fencing.

“Maybe they could be friends,” Chris suggested wholeheartedly.

“No,” Samuel replied swiftly as Star shook her head, “But, we do mean to ask: Do you guys really know Ben?”

“Oh, Ben?” Paige laughed, then she began to recall, “No. Not really. He’s only been around Terran High since senior year. I heard he moved schools, that’s why. Something about his old school being filled to the brim with bad people.”

“So Ben’s only been around since senior year. No wonder why I haven’t heard of him. He sounds like the type of guy who would get himself involved with the school,” Samuel pondered. Then he turned to Chris. “What about you?”

“Oh Ben’s a fun guy to talk to. Sometimes I feel a little bummed cause it feels like I don’t fit in with the others,” Chris shared, “I’m not a writer like most of them are, and usually I can’t make it to meetings because I’m too busy. But he always plays card games with me, which is nice of him.”

“Wait, wait, you’re saying the people here are also writers?”

“Yeah. Most of them are. Some of us aren’t, like Paige here, and… Skyler.”

“Skyler’s not a writer,” Samuel realized, “Hmm. So she’s just a reader, and she really seems to believe in this Obelisk story of hers being the true story of this place. But Ben and Tiffany think it’s something else. Who do I trust? How will I escape this island if nobody knows which is the correct scripture?”

“Oh and, Ben is not a writer.”

“What?”

“He is not a writer,” Chris revealed, “Actually, he WAS. He was a writer. Yes. I remember it now. He said he had this story that meant a lot to him. But he said he never had the heart to finish it. I don’t know why.”

“This information is getting me nowhere,” Samuel thought grimly, “I was just trying to figure out who Ben was and now I’m getting this sappy crap. I’m done digging. Ben’s off my radar for now.”

“Well thanks for that, you two,” Samuel thanked the two, when suddenly Skyler’s voice cut through the air.

“TIME FOR OUR MEETING!”

“Oh, it’s the nightly meeting. Well all of us should go then, it’s usually very important,” Chris explained. Paige nodded in agreement, and the two walked off while Samuel and Aurora followed.

~

Neddy and Ruby, before being interrupted by the bell, were chatting away with the builders of the settlement, who introduced themselves as Bobby the Survivor and Simon.

Bobby the Survivor was a very bulky, very strong, young boy who was responsible for building the houses and other structures of the camp, their sole defense against dinosaur threats.

“My gem allows me to build things super fast,” Bobby explained as he pointed at his gem, “It’s like instant! I’m amazed I can do something like this. Well it makes sense, I’ve always wanted to be a construction worker.”