The Arks: Over Heaven (by Ben)

Chapter 56: Change of Plans

Part 2/2

“Don’t scare Samuel now. Now, before we start with our first mission, do you have any concerns or requests?” Tiffany asked with a raised eyebrow. Samuel nodded.

“I sure do. First off, why’d you desert the Book Club camp? It sure did make me and the others’ times a bit more difficult.”

“To draw out the heroes who are smart and strong enough to find the way out of here. Besides, I always wanted to move here anyway. Settling too close to the obelisk was never a good idea. Too many people and things could come by and it would compromise our safety, but everyone insisted since it was close to the rivers, where food was easy to get. So, I left. Then I found Andres, surprisingly. He’s actually a good childhood friend of mine. I didn’t even know he attended Terran High. Then, we made our way to this shelter, set up, and bided for time,” Tiffany explained quickly, “We did run into some trouble a few days ago. Some scouts under a mysterious figure named the ‘Crimson Crusader’ tried to hunt us down, but we easily took care of them.”

“The Crimson Crusader… Who is that?” Samuel wondered. He asked, “Should we be concerned about this person?”

Tiffany shrugged.

“Personally, I don’t see the concern. They don’t seem to know how to tame anything, so they would have to rely on pure manpower, it’s something that is easily countered by me and Andres’ abilities.”

Samuel reached into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. The cryptic message from Star. Star looked up and clucked her beak. Tiffany looked at her, and Star winked at her. Tiffany’s eyes widened.

“I do have one request, though,” Samuel admitted, “My dodo friend, Star, well, she gave me this message. It’s morse code, I think. I was wondering if you knew morse code? It just feels weird to me. Star isn’t exactly normal, she, she never went through the taming process and she almost acts human at times. Plus, she has an ability like us humans, almost as if she has her own implant attribute. So, could you help translate it?”

Tiffany grabbed the paper out of Samuel’s hands and began to read the lines carefully. As she did, Star smirked. Tiffany spotted her smirk in the corner of her eye, and looked up at Samuel.

“Your friend sure is unusual. She has a lot of character, even though the creatures of this island should be emotionless,” Tiffany told them, “There’s more to Star than meets the eye, Samuel. And this message is morse code, she’s trying to tell you something.”

Samuel’s eyes widened, and Star licked her beak in anticipation, fluttering her feet. Tiffany handed the note back to Samuel, who held it in his hand, numb in shock.

“I won’t translate it for you just yet,” Tiffany declared, “I still don’t know what type of person you are. But I’ll find out soon. We’re going on an expedition to a cave that’s nearby. We have high faith that something there is waiting for us: an artifact. In that book, the main characters used artifacts to escape. So, once you prove you and your team are worthy, by helping me and Andres collect the artifact, I will translate the message for you. Do we have an understanding?”

Samuel nodded in affirmation. He gave her a salute.

“Of course, partner.”

Tiffany sighed, and cracked her knuckles. She waved at the air, and Andres followed.

“Let’s go down to the lake for a swim. You should come too, Samuel. You need to get yourself cleaned up, there’s mud all over you.”

Tiffany and Andres left the house, leaving the door open for Samuel to follow suit. Samuel eyed the book that lay on the counter again. Once again, he was faced with a decision. He could grab the book, and just leave.

But now with Star’s message on the line, and a potential translator, Samuel was no longer willing to make that move. He got up from his seat, got out the door, and shut it behind him. Star chittered happily, and Samuel looked down at her with a smile. He crouched down for Star.

“Hop on my shoulder, friend.”

Star chuckled and hopped onto his shoulder. Samuel got up from the ground, and began to walk off after Tiffany and Andres.