Chapter 4: Fight or Flight Part 2

Anyone who has spent a few nights in a tent during a storm can tell you: The world doesn't care all that much if you live or die.

-Anthony Doerr

Day 3

The Western Approach

I woke up to a horrible smell. And I mean a REALLY bad smell. I scrunched my nose and sat up. Nothing seemed out of place, but the stench was obviously nearby. I slid my legs over the side of my bed and pulled on my shoes. As I slipped on the second one, my foot sank into a squishy substance at the bottom. I pulled my foot out to discover whatever was emitting that horrible smell was in my shoe.

A giggle escaped from the doorway. I looked over to see Mira peering in. She had a hand over her mouth, trying to muffle her laughter. She caught me looking hid behind the door.

I held up the shoe. "Mira. What did I just step in?" I had a sinking feeling. There was no way she did what I think she did.

She let out a whistle and Brownie darted out from beneath my bed and through the door.

She did.

"You little BRAT!"

I launched from the bed and burst through the door. Mira was out of the hut and running down the beach, Brownie close behind. I sprinted through the threshold and onto the sand. "You think you're funny? I'll give you something to laugh about!"

Mira just giggled harder and sped up. Brownie hopped up onto her shoulder when he caught up. She reached a small, rocky cliff. On one side was the ocean, and on the other, the forest. Her head darted around as she looked for another path.

I was closing the distance. "Oh it looks like you're trapped now!"

Brownie jumped off her shoulder and began climbing up the ledge. "Hey! Wait for me!" Mira reached up and started scaling the rock face with her bare feet. I reached the cliff just as she was out of reach.

"Agile little brat, aren't you?"

Mira's response was to turn and stick her tongue out at me. As she turned though, her foothold crumbled slightly. She let out a cry of panic and clung to the rock wall. "Joe!"

My eyes widened and I surveyed the beach. Joe was nowhere in sight. I positioned myself beneath her. "Drop down, I'll catch you."

"No! You'll just drop me!"

"I won't!" I held up my hands to encourage her.

She looked down at me for a moment. "Promise."

"What?"

"Promise me that you'll catch me!"

I chuckled a bit. Did this kid have trust issues? "I promise."

She seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then her handhold gave way. She cried out and toppled backwards. I leaned back with my arms open and caught her. The weight threw me back and I landed on my rear. I looked down at Mira to find she was clutching my shirt tightly. "Hey, kiddo. It's ok. I got you."

Mira looked down and noticed her grip. She let go and stoop up. "Does... This mean you're not mad?"

A grin spread across my face. "Oh, I never said that..." Her eyes widened as I lunged at her. "C'mere!" She tried to scramble away as I pulled her into a tickle trap. "I told you I would give you something to laugh about!"

"No don't-" her protests dissolved into laughter as I targeted her sides. She twisted this way and that to escape, but she wasn't getting off easy.

My grin grew as she flailed. "Feel the wrath of the tickles!"

"Noooooooooo!"

We both fell into fits of laughter as we tumbled in the sand. Brownie jumped about to the side in an attempt to aid his friend. I glanced and reached out with a free hand. "Oh don't think you're scott free either!" I grabbed the small monkey and pulled him into the pile. I didn't know if monkeys were ticklish, but I was about to find out. More giggles emerged as I poked the small mammal's sides and belly. Mira lit up even more in response and reached over to spread the tickles. She managed to hook a hand under my armpit. "Noooooo! My weak spot has been discovered!" I feigned defeat and flopped onto my back, releasing them.

Brownie hopped on my chest while Mira danced her hands across my now wide-open belly, making me laugh even more. "Now you're in OUR trap."

We cycled through levels of dominance in our tickle fight for several minutes until a truce was called. We lied back on the sand and watched the clouds go by as we caught out breath. The sound of footsteps made me look up.

Joe had arrived with a fresh dilo hung over his shoulder. He looked at us questioningly, but the smile was evident. "Morning workout?"

Mira and I looked at each other and just laughed some more. "Yup." We both said simultaneously.

Joe just shook his head and chuckled. "I'm surprised, Mira. Normally I'm the only tickle monster."

Mira stood up and put on her tough face. "He got me while I was vulnerable! He'll never get ME again!"

Joe smiled warmly at her and pulled her into a hug. His face twinged slightly and he sniffed the air, recoiling from a small. "What's that awful stink?"

I pointed to my discarded boot beside us. Joe curiously looked inside. A smile broke across his face and he looked at me. "Fall victim to the master prankster, did you?

I sat up and picked up the boot. "I guess I did." I walked towards the ocean and dumped the could contents on the sand before rinsing it out. I rinsed my foot off as well. When I was satisfied that there was no residue, I slipped the boot back on. I turned back to Joe. "Is that breakfast?" I asked, pointing to the lizard.

"Ah, not quite. This is our bait."

Back at the hut, Joe had carved several chunks of meat off of the dilo. He handed me a large, leather bag and a stick with a sharpened piece of flint at the tip. "We're going to bag as many bugs as we can today. Prices of chitin fluctuate from day to day, so we had best be prepared." He whistled for Trailblazer to follow us into the woods, and we were off.

Several minutes later, we set up deep in the trees. He positioned Trailblazer behind a boulder and began hacking at the surrounding brush. "Help me clear an area, will you?"

I bent down and started pulling out leaves and bushes. The more I cleared, the slower I felt, if only slightly. I brought up my arm and checked my implant. Several berries and sections of plant fiber were now in my inventory.

"The implant passively collects bits and pieces of whatever you're digging into. Makes gathering and working that much easier." Joe commented when he saw me.

I nodded. That was useful to know. We continued clearing the ground until we had a small patch to work with. "Is this clear enough?"

Joe surveyed the area. "Yeah, that'll do."

"What'd we do this for?"

Joe bent down and opened his pack. "Just so that we have a good view to see them coming."

"Them?"

Joe pulled out a chunk of meat and speared it. "The bugs, of course." He walked to the center of the clearing and jammed the blunt end of the spear into the dirt, meat sticking from the other end. He walked back and pulled out another spear. "Now," he looked at me, "We wait."

We sat and waited for a while. Unlike our last trip along the river, sitting in silence amidst the trees really gave me time to take in just how alive the forest was. Small birds fluttered through the canopy, small bugs hummed by, and I could hear the sound of dinosaurs calling to each other in the distance. The trees swayed in a light breeze and several morning dewdrops shook from the leaves leaving behind the soft rhythm of them landing. It felt like this was a rare moment of serenity that I should make the most of. Joe passively scribbled in his book while I was left to my thoughts again. It seemed like I had a lot of time on my hands to think lately. "Hey Joe?"

He glanced up to acknowledge me before returning to his writing.

"If everyone woke up on the island at some point, then how long ago did Mira arrive?"

Joe didn't answer me, but he stopped writing. "What's got you on that path of thinking?"

I cocked my head. "Well you don't have to answer, I was just wondering because she's so young. I can't imagine she washed up much younger than she is now."

Joe put his pencil down and sighed. He looked up at me. He seemed to be thinking something over, as if I had just pried at a deep secret. "Some people," he began, "have been on this island for very long." He gestured to himself. "Case and point. When some people have been here a while, they establish a way of life that's comfortable for them. And, in some cases, comfortable enough to make a family." He gazed in the direction of the hut. "Mira... Was one such child. Her parents were two of the smartest and most caring people on the island. They built a life here, trying to make the most of what they had." He smiled. "And they were happy. In a rare, genuine kind of way, they had found peace." His smile faded. "However, this island, and some of it's inhabitants, have ways of breaking peace." He looked to me. "I won't say the details, but for several reasons, I made a promise to take Mira into my care." He smiled warmly. "I've raised her for five years now. She turns nine soon, that's why I'm treating her lately. She hasn't had a lot of experience with people, so she's slow to trust. She a smart girl, though, like her mother, but stubborn and proud, like her father. She shares their big hearts." A chuckle rumbled in his chest. "They would be proud of the girl she's become. I know I am. She's my little ray of sunshine in this otherwise tired world."

I listened closely. Mira had truly been born on the island? I had to give the kid credit; they've probably had a nasty childhood. A chitter interrupted our conversation.

Joe perked up. "Looks like we have costumers." He raised his spear.

Out of the brush came many large insects. Ants the size of my boot as well as dragonflies as big as my fist, all converging on the bait.

Joe launched forward, spear in hand, and stabbed the first ant clear through the abdomen. The insect squirmed before sitting still. Joe lifted his prize and placed it in his bag before looking at me. "Well? Get to it! Bag as many as you can!"

I looked down at the small army. I lifted my spear and drove it through the head of another ant. The creature died instantly. I lifted it up and pried it off my spear into my bag. I looked down to find two more were trying to chew through my boots. I freaked out a little and stomped on one. It made a sickening crunch as it was crushed beneath my boot.

"Hey, don't go smushing them now. The shells are the valuable bit. Keep them in one piece, if you can."

We got to work spearing insects as they came. At first I thought we would get swarmed, but it seemed they were all simply trickling in from wherever the nest was. It took me a while to get the hang of stabbing accurately, I still missed more than I hit. I lost track of time as we worked, the sun now past it's peak. For a while, I thought the swarm would never end, until their numbers began to noticeably dwindle. My bag felt heavy with the weight of all the stabbed bugs by the time they stopped marching in. I was sweaty and tired, but we had gathered a good haul. A few crushed bugs littered the ground, but it couldn't be helped.

"Alright, that should be enough." Joe walked over to the bait. He pulled it off the spear and tossed it into the woods, diverting the rest of the colony. He looked up at the sky. "Aww boy. We lost track of time. Mira's probably hungry." He looked back at me. "Lets you and I take a break for now. We'll head back when we've recovered a bit of our stamina."

I nodded and sat back against a stone. I opened my inventory and pulled out a bushel of colorful berries and munched on them quietly as Joe did the same. The blue, yellow, and red berries all tasted the same; juicy, yet with different levels of sweetness. I went to try a white one when Joe stopped me. "I wouldn't eat those. They're a powerful stimulant, able to wake up even the sleepiest of people. But they have a tendency to dry up the mouth once swallowed." I took his advice and put the white ones back in my inventory. Maybe they would be a good pick-me-up in the mornings. A medium-sized creature fluttered down from a nearby tree. It was smaller than a dilo, yet resembled a raptor. It's body was mostly covered in feathers, yet it seemed more apt to gliding than flying. It inspected the crushed insects for a moment before munching on the remains.

"Archaeopteryx," Joe stated, beginning to lift our bags onto Trailblazer. "Insectivore."

I nodded and leaned my head back to listen to the forest again. I cocked my head to hear better, but was put off by the absence of the usual sounds. No calls, birds, or, with good reason, bugs. Even the breeze had stopped. It was almost completely silent. The archaeopteryx perked up before darting back into the woods. I sat up as the breeze came through. Trailblazer shifted uneasily and glanced about.

My nose pinched up as a smell was carried in by the breeze. It was foul, yet familiar. I smelled it back on our hunting trip when the raptors attacked the phiomia.

It smelled like blood.

I stood up and looked to Joe. His face confirmed he smelled it to. "No, not here, not now... They shouldn't be hunting here..." He looked at me with an urgent expression on his face. "We need to go. Now." He moved to grabbed hold of Trailblazer's lead and pulled him up.

I looked at him questioningly. "What's wrong? What's going on?"

He packed up quickly and met my gaze. "The Scales are coming."

The fear in his voice sent a chill down my spine. He still hadn't explained what or who the Scales were, but it was evident they were bad news. "Should we be worried?"

Joe pulled his satchel over his shoulder. "If we leave now, we might be able to get out of the forest before-"

He was cut off by a whizzing sound as an arrow flew past us. The projectile struck Trailblazer square in the leg, causing it it stumble. The creature cried out in pain before a second arrow pierced it's throat. The poor lizard let out a pained gurgle before collapsing on the ground.

I stood there shocked before Joe grabbed me by the arm. "RUN!"

A howl echoed behind us as we turned and ran. We dashed through the trees, arrows flying past us and sticking into nearby trunks. Whoops and hollers could be heard after near misses. Joe called out to me. "We can get ahead of them! We just need to keep some distance and-" He didn't finish. A bola flew out of the leaves and wrapped itself around Joe's legs, tripping him. He fell to the ground and struggled to untangle the mess of ropes. I bent down to help him, but they weren't coming off. We left our spears behind, so we had nothing to cut them with. "It's no good, boy."

I looked at him. "No, no, we can get this! Just pull harder!"

He gripped my arm to stop me. "Look, we both know there's no time." He took a deep breath and looked me square in the eye. "You can still escape, go!"

"Joe I'm not leaving you here!"

Joe's tone turned deep and more serious than I've ever heard him. "Yes. You are." He turned and unslung his satchel. He handed it to me. "Follow the book. It has maps and instructions that can take you to safety. The beach leads to a town if you head south." A snarl could be heard nearby.

"Joe I-"

"I know, it's sudden, but if you're even half of the kind of genuine person I think you are, you'll go and you'll survive."

I gripped the bag tightly. "...Alright"

I made a move to stand, but Joe grabbed my arm one last time. "Francis," he began, "I know you don't owe me this but, please," his expression became desperate. "Please take her with you."

I gripped his in mine. "I will, don't worry." An arrow struck the ground near us and the souls of footsteps could be heard advancing.

Joe squeezed my hand. "Promise me. Promise me you'll protect her."

I knelt down and looked him in the eye. "I promise you. I'll protect her with my life."

Joe smiled at let out a breath before pulling out his bow. "Thank you. This island needs more people like you. Now GO!" The bushes parted as a man burst through, a club in his raised hand. Joe notched an arrow and fired it straight through his throat. The man recoiled back and brought his hands up to his fatal wound. He stared daggers at Joe as he collapsed. "I'll slow them down! Move!" Joe waved me on. I gave him one last hesitant look before dashing in the direction of the beach.

The sun was beginning to set as I burst out of the tree line, panting hard. I scanned the beach for the hut. The moment I saw it I sprinted for it. "Mira!" I called out. "Mira where are you!?"

Mira poked her head around the side of the hut. "Over here! I'm making-" She stopped when she saw my expression. "What's wrong?"

Rounded the house and looked back towards the trees. Nothing had come out yet. I turned back to Mira, who was standing by the burning fire pit. "Mira we need to go, now!" I opened the preserving bin and pulled out several helpings of food and stuffed them into the satchel.

Mira noticed the bag. "Why do you have Joe's bag. He never leaves it anywhere." Her voice was growing even more worried. "Where's Joe?"

I glanced at her and froze. She was backing away from me with fear in her eyes. I knelt down to get eye level with her. "Hey, listen to me. Something very bad happened and Joe told me to bring you to town where it's safe."

She just shook her head and took another step back. "Where's Joe!?"

"I'm sorry, I don't have a lot of time to explain." I held out my hand to her. "I'm sure Joe will be fine, but I need you to come with me right now." I winced at the lie, but I didn't have a lot of time to convince her; we were losing light too.

She took another step back, tears beginning to form. "Joe wouldn't give up his bag unless he was in trouble. WHERE'S JOE?!"

I sighed. "Kiddo, I don't-"

I cut myself off as the sound of fast footprints came from behind me. I turned around only for a decent sized mammal to pounce at me. I raised my arm in defense only for the rabid creature to sink its teeth into my wrist. I cried out in pain as I fell onto my back. The canine thrashed its head, trying to rip a chunk out of my arm. I patted the ground with my free hand for something to hit it with. My fingers wrapped around a decent-sized stick in the fire pit. I wound up and smashed the burning chunk of wood against the creature's head. The hyena lost its grip and fell to the side. I shot to my feet and backed up in front of Mira. I clutched my badly bleeding arm against my chest while I held the burning stick out in front of me. I glanced behind me. "Mira are you-" My eyes widened when I realized she was gone. I looked about frantically and spotted her and Brownie running down the beach. "Dammit... Mira!" I called after her. The creature snarled as it got up. I turned back and kicked the tripod down on top of it, pot and all. The hyena yelped as the contents spilled over it and ran back into the woods. I turned and sprinted after Mira.

I caught up to her at the cliff from this morning. She was almost at the top now. "Mira! Wait! You could fall again!" Several growls rang out across the beach. I turned around to see the pack thundering across the sand. I spun and grabbed onto the rocky cliff. "Maybe climbing isn't such a bad idea..." I kept the burning stock in one hand as I scaled the wall. I barely made it up halfway when the hyenas reached the bottom. They jumped and scratched at the wall, but were nowhere near close enough. One of the pack members howled at the rest and they all dashed into the forest. I looked up towards Mira, who was just pulling herself over the top. "Mira wait!" It's was getting way too dark for my liking. I had to use the torch to find handholds. My arms were burning from the stress, but I pulled myself up over the top of the ledge. There was a small clearing on top, with the forest on one side and a drop to the waves on another. Mira was walking along the far side, looking for a way down. I held up my hand to get her attention. "Kid, please. I need you to stop."

Mira turned towards me, tears in her eyes. "Go away!" Brownie jumped up and down aggressively.

"I can't go away! Joe asked me to keep you safe!" I yelled back.

"Joe can keep me safe just fine!" She took a step back.

"No he can't!" I took a step towards her.

She shook her head. "Yes he can! He's always been-"

"Joe's gone, Mira! He-" We both froze, realizing what I let slip.

Mira visibly paled. "W-what?" Her voice was barely audible over the waves below. "N-no, no, no. Not again. Please. N-not again." Brownie let out a panicked cry as she took another step back, only for it to meet unstable ground. She reeled back and began to fall. I launched forward and grabbed her flailing arm. I leaned back hard and pulled her back to flat ground.

She tried to break free again but I held her tight. She beat her arms against me to make me let go. "Let go you stupid mean dumb-"

I dropped the torch, knelt down, and pulled her into a hug. "Kid, I'm so sorry. Some very bad men attacked us while were out. Joe got hurt and told me to go on without him to get you."

She stopped punching but continued to yell. "You could have stayed! You could have helped him!"

"I tried. I wanted nothing more than to help. But Joe asked me to make a promise. He made me promise to protect you." I held her out at arms length. "I'm not going to sugar coat it; I don't know if I can keep that promise. But I sure as hell am going to do my best." I made my tone as gentle as possible. "But I can't do that unless you trust me." I gave her my best smile. "Besides, haven't I made good on my promises before?"

She stayed silent, tears rolling down her cheeks. After a long moment, she looked at me and nodded.

I smiled at her again. "Atta' girl. No more running off now, ok?" I sighed, glad that was done with. I pulled her into a hug again only this time, she returned it. I let her cry into my shoulder for a while, letting her get her emotions out. When she stopped sniveling I let go. "Better?"

She wiped her nose with her arm and sniffed. "... Better."

I stood up. "Alright now how do we-"

Brownie let out a loud screech as the sound of many footsteps became audible. I reached down and grabbed the torch, holding it up to light the area. The fire reflected back from multiple pairs of eyes.

"Shit..." I waved the torch back and forth aggressively to get them to back off. Some of them did, but others simply advanced into the light. They bared their fangs and snarled. I put an arm on Mira to move her behind me. I glanced back to see if there was any way down. All I could see in the dark was the light reflecting off the waves. The cliff was rocky and sharp; no way we could climb it. I turned back as a hyena made a lunge at me. It received a crack over the head with the torch for its troubles. The attack emboldened the pack as they all took a few steps forward. I shifted my foot back only to find the lip of the rock.

We were out of room.

I took one more glance down the cliff, then looked at Mira. "Mira I need to know; do you trust me?"

Mira looked at me panicked. "... I-I..."

Another hyena lunged forward. I spun and caught it midair with a kick, sending it rolling back into the darkness. I whipped back to Mira. "Mira I need to know NOW."

She clutched Brownie close and yelled. "Yes! I-I do b-but-"

I reached out and pulled her close. "Then hold on!" With one more glance at the pack, I jumped off the ledge. I was hoping for a clear drop into the water, but my leg clipped a rock, sending us into a spin. I tumbled against the rocky surface, the sharp outcroppings tearing into me as we fell. I curled around Mira to try and shield her from harm. I don't know which one of us was screaming louder. I crashed hard against a shape in the dark, knocking the wind from me. I'm not sure if the crack I heard was a branch or a rib, but pain exploded across my abdomen. We rolled once more before plunging into the icy water.

A/N:

Hey, you guys wanna know a few fun facts about this story?

-Chapter 1 was 1337 words long.

-This entire story has been written using my phone on Notes and just copy-pasted because my laptop is busted.

-This story has the highest average word count per-chapter of all the ark fics right now.

-This is my first fanfic.

Don't y'all feel just so darn educated right now?

Anyway, I'm writing chapter 5 in the same sitting as chapter 4, so expect that to be out soon, if not like... Half an hour after I post this chapter.

Edit: You don't write THAT fast.

Hey! I wrote this chapter in 3 and a half hours flat! Shut your face hole!

Edit: It's true. It's almost like you have the thumbs of someone who spends 90% of their free time on video games.

Oh wait. I actually do that. Shit. Well look on the bright side! I'm branching out by getting all literary with words and stuff!

In regards to the story, I COMPLETELY underestimated the story when rating this thing. It may not have sexual themes, but this story is probably gonna clock in with M-rated violence. Things can get dark REAL fast if I let them. So if I scarred anyone for life...

My bad? I guess?

As always, try to have a good laugh today.

-TheSurvivingComedian