Thick leaves rustled in the trees above as a cool breeze rolled in from the water. Autumn was beginning, the leaves were starting to change from their regular green to bright oranges, yellows, and reds. Waves could still be heard crashing into the rocks below from up on the edge of the trees.
The night was quiet, aside from the light snaps from the fire, where bacon and a pair of eggs sizzled on top of it. The fire cast an orange glow to the area.
This ARK seemed peaceful; there was almost no inhabitants on it. There was the odd small beach home that could be spotted from the sky. But so far, there were no signs of large encampments here.
There was no remorse for what I had done. I knew, as I sat quietly by the fire, after the life I had lived, some peace was more than deserved. However, there was still a large part of me that felt an immense amount of guilt for my betrayal, even as I tried to enjoy the relaxing sensation of my new life.
The smoke from the fire was lulling me, slowly, into sleep. I pulled my fur armor tighter around my shoulders, trying to keep my eyes open. I knew I needed to find a better place to make camp. But, after so much traveling, I needed a break, Hel did too.
At the thought of my companion, I furrowed my brow. She had disappeared to hunt for some time now and I have not seen her in a while. Perhaps, she was just enjoying the freedom to finally fly as she pleased, I thought to myself, deciding not to let my fears get carried away.
The snapping of underbrush suddenly pulled me from my thoughts. Quiet footsteps inched closer to my temporary camp. They were trying to be silent and careful, but I could tell this seemed to be a difficult task for them. This was not an animal, I knew, but a man. I could hear branches snagging on their clothing as they attempted to continue their approach.
Before leaving my home ARK, I was hesitant to upload my armor, knowing I would need it. But I also know, should it be recognized, it would bring me more trouble than anything. Now, facing an unplanned meeting with this stranger, I was glad to have left it tucked away.
"If you do not have good intentions," I growled from my seated position in front of the fire. "please just leave me alone. I am tired." For a brief moment, the intruder paused. Taking advantage of their hesitation, I reached for the pistol at my side. The rustling of brush underfoot continued once more, alerting me to the fact that this stranger wished to proceed with a hostile confrontation.
Ignoring the exhaustion washing over me from several days of travel, I drew the pistol, preparing to engage the stranger. My chest beat as my heart rate began to quicken. "Did you not hear me?" I snarled, jumping up from my seated position and whirling around.
As quickly as I had drawn my weapon, a heavy force knocked it from my hands. The pistol dropped, making a dull thud as it landed in the earth. Recoiling from the pain, I drew my hands to my body. "I wouldn't do that, if I were you." Green eyes locked with ice blue, and then shifted to the pistol pointed at my face.
He was a giant of a man, standing tall above me. His wide set shoulders shifted as he took a step closer. On reflex, I raised my hands. "Your people aren't welcome here." His voice was cold. I squinted at him. How could he know? My mind began racing. I covered my tracks; I have not seen anyone since I set out and have made sure to fly well above the trees.
"We've been following you since you downloaded here." He said, seeming to understand my confusion. Little did he know, I was more confused than ever. Who was able to follow me during the time I was here without me noticing, let alone multiple of them? "Alright," I started slowly, leaving his icy gaze. My eyes darted down to my pistol laying in the leaves.
"I will be on my way if you would just allow me to collect my belongings." The man looked as though he was about to say something, but before he could, I darted down, scooping in one hand my gun, and the other a fistful of dirt, which I proceeded to whip at the intruder's face.
To my horror, he was able to, for the most part, dodge the attack, quickly shaking the dirt from his vision. Before I could even raise my weapon, he had discarded his by aggressively tossing it to the ground, and reached out with a large hand, grabbing my gun hand by the wrist in an iron grip, and my throat with his other hand. "Drop it." He snarled.
His eyes darkened and the grip on my throat tightened when I hesitated. As my breaths became laboured, I dropped the pistol. "Good girl." The man smirked. I could almost see a glimpse of his teeth at the corner of his mouth. The sight vaguely reminded me of a story I once heard, of Alice in Wonderland and the Cheshire Cat.
He smelled of fire and tobacco, and something else that I could not quite put my finger on. He wore a green shirt, to which I could see dark chest hair starting to show at the collar. With his thumb, he pulled at the collar of my own shirt, glancing at the black and blue ink on my collarbone. His smirk widened at the sight before returning his eyes to mine.
"Call it." He growled, his eyes flickering back to mine. I squinted my eyes at him, confused. Never have I been requested to call my wyvern back to me by an enemy. What was he playing at? Unsure of what was about to transpire, I decided to feign innocence. "Call what?" The corner of his eyes crinkled, and he let out a breath of amusement. For a moment, his grip relaxed, broad shoulders shook with silent laughter. Perhaps, it would seem as though he were about to release his hold on me, had it not been for the menacing grin stretched across his face.
I braced myself as his amusement seemed to come to an end and his gaze hardened. The hand on my wrist flew up to my hair, reaching for a fistful of silver strands, and yanking backwards. A yelp of pain escaped my lips. Slender fingers wrapped around the thick wrist of the hand that held my throat. Forcefully, the stranger pushed backwards, slamming me into the trunk of a tree. I could feel my breath evacuate my lungs.
He leaned in closer so I could feel the hair from his beard trail across my cheek and his warm breath on my ear. "Call your fucking wyvern," He snarled, his baritone voice low and threatening. "Or you'll be begging me to end your life." He pulled back from my cheek, returning to glare into my eyes. "Do we understand one another?" Somehow, I knew neither outcome would be desirable, I had to get away from him and call Hel back.
I narrowed my eyes and grabbed onto the folds of his shirt with my free hand, using this leverage to lift my knee to make contact with his delicates. The sight of the giant intruder collapsing to his knees, wheezing in pain, would normally be an entertaining sight, but I could not think of that now. Dazed, I dropped to the forest floor, gasping in a lungful of air.
Whilst my attacker was more preoccupied with other matters, I leapt forwards onto my stomach, my arm outstretched for the pistol that lay discarded in the leaves, only to have a heavy boot come crashing down onto my hand. Pain shot through my appendages, and instinctively, I grabbed at the toe of the boot, attempting to alleviate some of the pressure.
"Brother," Said the new figure, almost in a scolding manner. "How many times have I told you, don't play with your prey." He chortled at this, watching his sibling scramble to his feet. I could see the resemblance between the two, however this man had dusty blond hair and was much heavier set.
"Apologies my dear," Now addressing me, my eyes locked with his as I looked up from my position on the ground. "There must have been some sort of misunderstanding." He started. A small part of me started to feel some relief, but he had yet to remove his heavy stance from my fingers.
"I do believe, and quite politely I might add, that my brother," He paused, leaning down to my level, wrapping a large hand around my arm, just above the elbow. "Has asked you to call your fucking wyvern." With an exceedingly small amount of effort, he yanked me up off the forest floor and to my feet.
We now stood toe to toe as he glared down at me. Any sign of politeness now disappeared. "Call it." He rumbled. I could see the anger flare in his eyes as I continued to disobey. His gaze quickly changed from mine to his brother, who with a swift motion tossed a blade to him. He caught it, barely looking, and pressed it to my throat.
"Call it!" He barked. I could feel the blade bite into my flesh. "Why?" I asked, mustering the most flat and unamused tone I could. He seemed thrown off by this. It was noticeably clear that this had never been an issue for him; anyone else would have given up the ghost.
As if a coin had flipped, I felt heat begin to rise in my body. Anger began to flare, like my nostrils with every elevated exhale. The man seemed stuck for a moment, his grip relaxing, and a grin spread across his face, he chuckled. I could hear his brother release an amused exhale.
"Are you dense girl?" I squinted my eyes at him, this seemed to amuse him further. But when he sucked in a lungful of air to begin laughing even harder, I drew back a fist, striking him in the Adams apple. My jaw clenched, and I released a hiss of pain as the blade dug farther into my neck, but this action had achieved what I was hoping for. He dropped the weapon, recoiling in pain, his hands flew to his throat.
Before the blade could reach the leafy floor, I caught it, quickly jumping behind the giant man, and holding the knife to his back. He reached his arms upwards in surrender, but his brother scrambled to grasp his pistol. "Ah!" I snapped. "Drop it." Ice blue eyes narrowed at me. His brother stayed silent and statue like. "Drop it, or brother dearest here will bleed out before you get the chance."
I dug the blade into his back, this made him bark out. "Just do what she says, Torrad!" Gritting his teeth, Torrad discarded his drawn weapon. This made me grin, "Good boy." I purred into his brother's ear, our eyes never leaving each other.
Despite making the decision to abandon my bloody and murderous life behind, my sinister instincts were now beginning to take over. "Now," I began, twirling the blade against my captive's spine, my eyes boring into Torrad's. His jaw tightened, and his shoulders heaved as he inhaled and exhaled angrily. "I believe, and quite politely I may add." I mocked, watching his glare darken, taking note of how he clenched and unclenched his fists. His kept beard and faded hair style made him quite attractive and pleasing to look at. "I have asked why you want me to call my wyvern."
Both men stayed silent. A growl rumbled in my throat. "Alright." I snapped. Taking a step back, I planted my foot on the man's back, shoving him forwards. He caught himself with his hands.
"You want me to call my wyvern?" The eldest brother quickly scrambled to his feet, and they both stood in horror as I pulled the horn at my side to my lips. Its loud rhythm hummed through the forest and echoed off the hills in the distance. Green fumes lit up the sky, and an ear-piercing roar followed. Her outline could be seen in the night sky, the largest poison wyvern I had ever raised. Hel was coming.
Gusts of wind blew my silver hair across my face. A sinister smile pulling at the corners of my mouth. I could have almost laughed, watching as these two fools scrambled to find somewhere safe to hide. What I lacked in size and strength, I made up for in my ability to ride wyverns. My combat skills almost unmatchable in battle.
The large wings of my bonded wyvern beat the air, making the trees groan as she prepared to land. While the two men were distracted, I snatched up my pack, and quickly scrambled onto the wyverns back, taking hold of one of the large spikes that adorned her spine. "Fjuka." I called to her, giving the command to take off.
The female wyvern reared back on her legs, flapping her large, leathery wings, and took off. Wind roared in my ears as we reached the sky, but I was still able to hear bullets whizzing passed my head. I guided Hel towards the blue Obelisk, hoping that my attackers would lose my trail and I could make my escape to a different ARK.
The air became more frigid as we neared the snowy mountaintops of the winter biome. I wished I had my cloak to wrap around me, as the cold and adrenaline made my body shake uncontrollably, but it did not matter, I didn't plan to stay here long. The blue glow from the Obelisk became brighter as we grew closer, I signaled for the wyvern to begin descending. She obliged obediently, tucking her wings closer to her body, and we glided downwards.
My cloudy breath streamed out behind me as I let out a sigh of relief, seeing the platform became more visible. As I relaxed my shoulders, I was suddenly overcome with white hot pain in my right shoulder. A shriek of pain erupted from my chest, and instinctively, I released my hold on Hel, my hands flying to the point of impact.
It is not the first time, and it certainly didn't happen very often, but there was no mistaking it; I had been shot. Hel let out a small cry of concern, making her body rumble. She spread her wings, slowing our descent, and tried to recenter my balance. Letting the wyvern take control, I looked to the wound. I couldn't be sure, but it looked like the bullet did make an exit. That was good news, but I wasn't sure I was flexible enough to put pressure on both wounds. Blood soaked through the fur shall, leaving my hands warm and sticky.
A shrill screech could be heard on the wind. Looking over my shoulder with hazy vision, I could see three griffins gliding furiously towards us, rifles pointed in our direction. "Skjotla!" I cried to the wyvern, urging her to keep going. She roared in response, and I pressed my body down closer to her spine. I could feel the blood loss begin to take over my motor functions, and when Hel crashed down to the earth at the Obelisk, I slid from her spine, landing in the snow on my back. My pack landed beside me and with my left hand I reached into it, retrieving the empty cryopod I had stashed in it earlier.
Hel looked down to me and groaned, visibly concerned as her rider crawled in the snow towards her. With a shaky, outstretched hand, I input her data in the cryopod and with a crackle, she erupted into hundreds of sparks of element. My vision began to blur, and I clutched the wound in my shoulder, trying to find the strength to reach the terminal. But before I could, my pursuers landed their griffins on the platform around me. I watched Torrad jump from his mount's back and stomp towards me.
His eyes dark and posture stiff. With a heavy hand, he knocked the pod from my grasp. I watched it fly from my grip and roll a few times in the snow. "Thank you for calling your wyvern." He snarled. From the corner of my eye, I watched his eldest brother dismount from his griffin and casually stroll over to the cryopod, snow crunching under his boots. "No," I whispered. Forcefully, I was pushed backwards. A large hand wrapping around my throat.
"Please," I let out a strangled cry. Torrad climbed on top of me, knees straddling my chest. I struggled to calm my breathing and keep my eyes open as his grip tightened. My legs thrashed underneath the man and I struggled to remove his grip as I desperately tried to intake oxygen. "Torrad," His brother's voice cut through the silence, but he didn't acknowledge him. "Torrad!" He barked. Torrad jumped, slightly releasing his grasp on my throat. I gasped for air and writhed underneath the giant man. "We could still use her."
A low growl erupted from Torrad's chest. "For what, Halfdan?" He snarled; his gaze snapped up to his brother. I watched through teary eyes as he clenched his jaw. The thick muscles in his neck tensed in frustration. "I bet she's worth a lot to either faction." Halfdan said, nodding at the third man, who agreed. My heart began to beat at an uncontrollable rate. Halfdan was not wrong, I knew. Torrad looked back at me, brow furrowed. I shook my head vigorously. "Just kill me." I said to him.
Torrad lifted an eyebrow at this, confused by the request. "Kill me!" I spat. I would rather be dead than return to my abandoned tribe. My mind raced with all the memories, all the pain I had endured for years. I could only imagine what would happen if this tribe were to strike up a deal with them to return me, as I was almost certain they would be looking for me. Tears began to well in my eyes, and I could feel them roll down the sides of my face. "Please." I whispered so that only Torrad could hear.
A sinister smirk spread across his face, his ice blue eyes piercing my gaze, making a shiver run up my spine. "You know, Halfdan," Torrad started, the look on his face making my stomach turn. "I think that's the best idea you may have ever had." He laughed. My heart pounded uncontrollably in my chest and the fear began to take over. "Please," I begged, grabbing at the man's large forearms. "You don't have to do this."
"No, but I like this." He said, leaning down closer, his hands gripping the collar of my shirt. His weight was heavy on my chest as he shifted forwards. My blood went as cold as the snowflakes falling on my cheeks, watching as he drew back an arm, fist clenched. The blow was hard, blurring my vision. The ARK around me grew dark, and my limbs heavy, as hands picked me out of the snow.