Under Nirvana - An ARK

Chapter 8: Twinkle Twinkle

Story by Bria!

Find the last chapter in SNOW OWL and the next chapter in SCOUT!

“No, no! I have to—”

He lunged his hands forward toward the animal’s neck.

Nova’s eyes shot open. She sat up and kicked at Borealis, making him trip and hit his back on the grass. He let out a yell. Nova shot up from the ground, scooping the dodo bird up in her arms. The dodo bird squawked in disapproval at the man. Panting slightly, Nova could only ask,

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Nova laughed. “You didn’t think I was actually asleep, did you? Why would I sleep tight with someone like you around?”

Borealis snarled like a fox and lunged for the dodo again, but Nova simply stepped to the side. Borealis stumbled forward again, looking back with a sneer.

“We need food,” Borealis declared, lying about his true motives, “Pitiful bird has no purpose. Best we cut it down now to save it the pain.”

“Borealis, please!” Neddy cried out, “I— we collected meat already. We don’t have to kill the bird.”

“It’s for our betterment, Neddy. It must be done”

A bright, blue-green light suddenly burst from the dodo’s chest. Borealis’ eyes widened, and Neddy and Ruby seemed just as surprised. The dodo bird whimpered, its legs shaking as it curled up into a ball in Nova’s arms.

“Look at what you’ve done,” Nova glared. “This was all completely unnecessary. The little guy doesn’t even have any meat on his bones.”

“The dodo glowed just now,” Neddy muttered in awe. The trees in the forest rustled some more. A few more Microraptors clambered up the branches, watching the group carefully. There were at least ten now. Ruby looked back at the others with a grim look.

“We’ve got trouble!” Ruby screamed. Borealis finally snapped out of his daze, looking at her in worry.

“What is it now?” Borealis asked, his voice shaking slightly from his failed attempts to capture the bird.

“We’ve got a pack of Microraptors here. They’re just… watching us. I don’t know what they’re planning,” Ruby observed, drawing her bow and loading an arrow onto the string.

“Microraptors? How many of them are there?” Neddy questioned, standing up from the campfire.

“Ten… oh, crap, another three just showed up. There’s thirteen.”

Nova drew her own bow. “Are they dangerous?!”

“Why are we asking a question like that! Knowing this place, of course they are, we gotta go—” Neddy was cut off when the chitters of the microraptors made their way to the graduates’ ears. There was a blur in the air, and a gray, feathered, ugly protobird dived toward Ruby’s face. Ruby let out a groan as she was knocked backwards, her head spinning. She clutched her temple tight as the microraptor circled, letting out a squeal at her. A few more microraptors flew down, perching on Ruby and pecking at her skin.

“NO!” Neddy shouted, rushing forward, “Get off her!”

Neddy kicked at the first microraptor. It let out a shriek as its leg snapped against the tree. The other microraptors turned their heads toward him.

“Uh oh.”

PEW! Nova fired an arrow at one of the microraptors. Surprisingly, it struck it right in the chest. It let out a squeal and collapsed to the ground in a pool of its own blood. Giant, arm-sized dragonflies trickled in from the forest, settling on the corpse and eating at it. A few began nipping at the remaining microraptors. A dragonfly was snapped in half by the jaws of one of the microraptors. The microraptors that were still perched from the trees flew down and began striking the rest of the dragonflies.

“Ah…” Ruby winced again, cracking her neck. “Okay. Let’s get out of here.”

THWACK! Before Ruby could react, another microraptor stunned her with a swing at the head. Borealis roughly grabbed Nova’s arm and began to run away with her in tow.

“HEY! Let me go, you f*cking…” Nova hooked her bow and slammed her fist into Borealis’ strong arm, but he was barely affected. Nova’s shoes skidded against the grass as the black-robed man fled the area, running downhill.

Ruby slowly got up from the ground, but she had a groggy look on his face.

“I don’t… feel so good,” Ruby muttered. Neddy looked at Ruby worryingly.

“Ruby?”

Thud. Ruby fainted, collapsing to the ground. SNAP! The last microraptor disappeared into a microraptor’s mouth. The pack all turned their heads to the unconscious Ruby, approaching slowly but surely.

“Ruby! Look out!” Neddy cried as the birds closed in, “Darn it Ruby! What do I do?”

The dodo bird squawked behind Neddy. Looks like it was left behind. Neddy gulped loudly. The odds didn’t appear to be in his favor at the moment. The only thing close by was the bow on Ruby’s back… and the glasses he’d lended. Neddy picked the bow up, snatching an arrow from her quiver and pulling the string back.

“Fine,” Neddy said. “Bring it on, you filthy creatures!”

The dodo bird squawked meekly.

~

Borealis looked back as they were running away and noticed the situation Ruby had gotten herself into.

“Neddy! You pathetic boy! You need me! If you know what’s right for your life, you will abandon the woman and reconvene with us!” Borealis warned him.

But Neddy didn’t respond to Borealis’ words. He stopped in his tracks, still holding onto Nova’s arm tightly.

“Stupid, stupid boy… he gains a moral conscience now of all times? Perfect. Perfect. And now I have nobody under my command…” Borealis swore under his breath. Nova shot a look at him. She hadn’t been able to catch on what he said.

“Uh, hello, earth to Borealis?” Nova demanded, “You going to let go of me now, bastard?”

Borealis gritted his teeth, sprinting further down the plateau.

“HEY! Let me go, you weirdo! If you aren’t going to help, at least let me go back for TWINKLE!”

“Who’s Twinkle, hm?” Borealis grinned. “The dodo bird? Why should I let you go, then? A good leader does not let his subordinates run headfirst into death.”

“I never wanted to be a part of your team, jackass. Now let. Me. Go—”

“You’ll listen to me very carefully,” Borealis hushed her, coming to a pause in his steps. They were at the beaches now. The water from the waves of the ocean splashed onto the two as Borealis looked Nova in the eye. There were no creatures except those weird Lystrosaurus in sight, and there were a barren amount of bushes. No place for anything to ambush them.

Even though they were the same height, Borealis tried looking down on Nova. It wasn’t exactly working though.

“I have an ultimatum for you, Nova,” Borealis said confidently, his eyes glinting with purpose. “You agree to work under me without question, and we shall both return to aid your precious Twinkle. I suppose the other two can also be considered into the equation. Otherwise… We will stay here. We will not return. And they will perish.”

Nova looked at the rising sun. It was finally fully above the horizon. Its warm rays made Nova take a deep breath in…

Deep breath out.

Borealis placed a hand on Nova’s shoulder. Nova shuddered when Borealis let out a rough cackle. It was as if he was forcing a laugh.

“Choices, choices, choices, Nova,” Borealis stated, “Time’s ticking, Nova. Your friend has not much time left. So… what will it be?”

“Your little bird, or your pride?”