Ark: The Revival Chapter Six:

Her Prowess as a Survivor

"... alright…," Jory wiped the sweat from her brow, "This side of the ridge is just like the one where I'm set up. Just not as flat… and still no signs of civilization…," this was a bit of relief and a source of aggravation to her though, "Sure there must be others out here… I know there is or at least there was," she looked down at her crude map, "Found what looked like some old ruins that the desert took back. Some odd tablets too that I couldn't read," she frowned, "Found what I thought were tracks that could have been made by some nomads… or bandits," she growled, "Animals don't usually move in straight lines unless there is no other way. And some of the smaller prints looked human… or I'm just wishing they were… Not sure why though," she pulled out a purple berry from her pouch, "Here," she tossed it over her shoulder.

Just as she thought, the little chicken rat jumped up from the bushes behind her. It made little happy chirps as it chomped on the juicy berry. Jory rolled her eyes. She had done this. She fed it and now it wouldn't leave her alone. She knew this would happen, but she did it anyway. The little beast was now following her everywhere she went was now her problem due to her own weakness. Lately Jory had been finding it nestled up next to her in the morning. It would run off the moment she woke up, but it wouldn't go far as it hung around for breakfast. Ugly as it was, Jory was starting to find its antics kind of cute and charming. A small part of her wanted to keep it as a pet. A very small part of her. Though that would have been another mouth to feed and watch out for. Let alone she wasn't even sure if she could tame it. It was a wild critter after all.

"Though," she pondered outloud, "That's how a lot of domestic animals came to be. Dogs. Cows. Chickens," she threw back another berry which was caught and promptly eaten, "Not sure where you fit in," Jory looked over her shoulder, "I call you a chicken rat… but you ain't a chicken and you ain't a rat… don't even think a chicken and a rat could make an ugly thing like you…," she shook her head and threw another berry, "Sorry… I don't mean to be so mean… I bet I'm ugly to you," she turned around to face the beastie, "It's okay if you think that. I know I ain't the prettiest thing to ever exist. So who am I to judge you…," she sighed to herself, "And I'm doing it again…"

The chicken rat had been listening intently to her, but it was far more interested in Jory's pouch where all the juicy berries were being kept. It hopped a bit closer as Jory tried to map the area. This did not go unnoticed by Jory.

"No," she sternly warned the chicken rat, "I've given you a lot today and even all the purple ones. I don't got any left. Just those red and blue ones. So go find your own."

It started to pout and lay on its side while groaning. Jory was used to this little show that it would put on. Acting like it was starving, even though she could clearly see that its belly was protruding from all the berries she fed it. Turning back around, she went back to detailing her map. Marking points of interest. Showing where she found tracks. Making symbols of what beasts she saw where. She was no expert, but she thought she was making a pretty decent map. It would at least help with navigating as she explored further. Though exploring on her own two feet was difficult. She longed for a horse to ride. That way she could move faster and greater distances.

"A good horse could also out run those vicious lizards," Jory grumbled as she looked out of the seemingly endless sandstone ridges, "I doubt that horses exist here. Seen many things. Just no horses. Though I saw some tracks that looked like hooves, but they were huge… bigger than any horse I've dealt with… along the lines of a draft horse if I had to guess. Why am I even thinking about things like this?" she grew frustrated at herself, "I've got to stop thinking about what could be and focus on the now… Focus on what I got and I can do with what I got… I don't got much," she admitted, "But I've better tools and a better understanding of things… All I can do is hope that is enough to see me through," she stood up and looked out over the ridges and deep canyon before her, "I need to find… something," she wasn't sure what she really wanted to find, "There's got to be a point to this…"

Jory wouldn't find her answers there. Just a pretty view. Not that she minded that. Folding up the leather map, she placed it back in her pouch and thought about if she should just head back to her hole in the wall shelter or push a bit further. She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn't notice the little chicken rat sneaking towards her. It carefully positioned itself just behind Jory and crouched down low to the ground. With one leap, it latched onto Jory's pouch and tried to dig its greedy little claws into it looking for purple berries. Jory jumped with surprise at the sudden attack. She whirled around not realizing what was going on. Landing with a thud, Jory finally saw that the chicken rat had stolen her pouch and was sifting through it. Her map fell out as the creature dug through the pouch. It made a low growling noise as it realized that there were no purple berries.

Jory growled, "Why you stinkin' little rat! I told you I didn't have any of the purple berries. I gave them all to you! You know what," she stood up and brushed herself off, "I take back my apology from before. You are the ugliest son of a bitch I have ever seen!"

The chicken rat was offended and stomped its feet as it hissed. It even picked up the pouch and tossed it up in the air. It landed and all the berries fell out onto the sand ground. This pissed Jory off.

"You little!" she yelled, "Acting like an immature brat that never heard the word no."

It continued to throw a tantrum as it flung about anything it could get its little claws on. Berries, sand and even small stones were tossed about in its fits. Jory just glared down at it not saying a word. She would just let it wear itself out before trying to grab her stuff. There was a concern that it would lash out and try to bite her again. It didn't have a terrible bite, but it was enough to make Jory not experience another one. She just watched and waited for it to either settle down or pass out from exhaustion. It must have noticed that she didn't care about it jumping and moaning as it just sat down on the desert floor. That's when it eyed the map. Jory swore that she saw it smirk.

"Hang on there," she started to slowly go for the map, "Don't you even think about it. I need that. Don't care if you steal my berries. I can get more, but making a whole new map is something else," she tried to speak as calmly to the chicken rat as she could, "No! Don't do it," she grew nervous as the critter snatched the map out of her reach, "Okay…," she put up her hands, "You want the purple berries, right?" she headed to a berry filled bush, "If I give you some, will you give me that map back?"

It seemed to understand and made little cooing noises that must have meant that it agreed to her exchange. Keeping an eye on the chicken rat, Jory dug through the bush looking for purple berries. Of course all she was finding were the red, blue and yellow ones with the occasional white or black ones. She asked it to be a bit more patience as she looked for the berries.

I can't believe that I'm bargaining with a critter, she cursed her situation.

The chicken rat was growing impatient as Jory desperately looked. Seeing that she wasn't going to give it the purple berries it so desired, it bounded off down the slope that led into the canyon. Jory had promised herself that she would never waste her energy on chasing the beastie, but it had something that was going to be difficult to replace. Taking off after it, she did her best to follow it. It was quick, but she was determined. They ran through the canyon without paying much mind to what was around them. Jory was far too focused on getting her map back to pay attention to any possible dangers. She did take notice of the herd of duck billed critters that was just up ahead. They noticed her too, but didn't really seem to care as they went about grazing on the scrub bushes. The chicken rat ducked and weaved through the herd with ease while Jory had to give them a wide berth so as to not aggravate them. Though docile by nature, she knew that a stampeding herd was more dangerous than a pack of predators. Mindlessly running in fear and not caring what they trampled. Wouldn't be their fault if they got spooked because she was chasing a map thief. She kept her eye on that little chicken rat as she ran besides the herd. It was keeping a good pace as it bounded across the canyon floor.

"Come on you little bandit," Jory gritted her teeth as she was forced to take a rocky ramp that went above the canyon floor.

The chicken rat noticed that Jory was still following it. It held onto the map tighter as it came to a more narrow spot of the canyon. Jory was surprised to see pools of water. It was surprised too as it came to a skidding stop just before hitting the water. It looked around frantically for a way around the body of water, but with no luck. Jory was about to jump down and corner it, but it took back off in the direction from which it had come. She cursed her foul luck as she went back to the pursuit.

Hoo Wooooo! A bellowing call filled the canyon.

Pulling out one of her spears, Jory surveyed her surroundings to make sure nothing had snuck up on her. Nothing but sand, stone and gnarled trees and bushes. In the distance though, she could see a cloud of dust rising from where they had just come from. The bellowing became louder and closer. Jory realized that the duck billed critters had been spooked and were now stampeding down the canyon. Looking down, she saw that the chicken rat had frozen in fear as it knew what was coming. It began to cower and remain as still as possible.

"You've got to get higher!" she yelled down to it, "You'll get trampled if you stay down there! Get up on a rock!"

It wouldn't move though. It was completely flattened to the ground like a pancake. Jory could even see it trembling. There was no way it would have survived the stampee

"DAMNIT!" she knew she had to move.

Jumping down to the canyon floor, Jory quickly ran over to the frightened critter, scooped it up and climbed up some high rocks. She managed to get up there just in time. The herd divided around the rocks where she had taken shelter on. She could barely stand as the rock under her feet trembled with every stomp of the stampeding beasts. Giving into gravity, she fell to her knees and just latched on to the boulder as tight as she could. Jory made sure to hug the little chicken rat close to her chest. In turn, it latched to her clothing and wrapped its tail around her waist. They would just have to hang on until the herd passed by. It was hard and Jory felt like she was losing her grip, but she knew she couldn't fall.

I've survived stampedes before, she gritted her teeth as fought to stay on top of the boulder, Just got to hang in there, she noticed that the chicken rat was trembling with fear, Got to hang in there for both of us.

The herd started to thin much to Jory's relief. Though that didn't last long. She finally saw what caused the duck-billed critters to stampede in the first place. The pair of upright lizards that had been stalking her area for awhile now. The rust colored one and the yellowish green one. They were relentlessly pursuing the herd trying to single out any individual that fell behind. They found no such luck as the duck-billed beasts were keeping close together and not allowing an opening for the upright lizards to attack. The herd made its way through the pool of water, leaving the two lizards frustrated that they didn't get a filling meal. Jory tried to make herself as small as possible in hopes that they didn't notice her. She kept her breaths slow and steady as not to alert them. The chicken rat must have understood that the danger wasn't over as it clung tighter to her.

Please don't notice us… please catch our scent, Jory pleaded to herself.

The rust colored one let out an angry snarl as it watched the last of the herd disappear down the canyon. The green one remained calm and seemed to be a bit more aware that they weren't alone. It flared its nostrils as it took in deep breaths. It had to be looking for a scent. Maybe it had already detected Jory's presence. Raising its head, it let out a shrill cry as it headed towards the set of tall rocks that Jory and the chicken rat were hiding on top of. The rust colored one took notice of its companion and came over to investigate. It ran its snout up and down the rocks. It suddenly became excited as it must have picked up a scent. Jory knew that they had been found out.

Damnit! She wasn't sure how she was going to get out of this, There's no way I can make a run for it. And that ledge ain't close enough for me to jump to, she took a quick survey of possible escape routes, I doubt that these vicious lizards won't give up that easily, she gritted her teeth, Damnit!

"The gig is up, little critter," she looked at the chicken rat that was clinging to her chest, "Those upright lizards know we're here. Either we wait them out, which I don't think it's gonna end well for us. Or we can fight for our lives. That might not end up well for us either, but," she laughed, "at least we can say that we tried."

The little critter must have understood as it nodded its head in agreement. This caused Jory to smirk as she stood up and readied herself for a fight. Slipping her bow from her back, Jory pulled out an arrow and notched it. Pulling it back, she took aim at one of the upright lizards. It flew through the air as she let it loose. Sailing past the pair of vicious lizards, the arrow landed between them. The green one understood that Jory was going to fight for her life. It curled its lips in displeasure and narrowed its eyes as it started to circle the set of boulders. The rust colored one didn't seem to understand the threat that Jory posed. It was far more interested in getting up to where Jory was to notice that she was prepared to fight. It tried to climb up to her, but was only met with an arrow in its shoulder. It fell to the sandy floor of the canyon and let out a pain filled yelp. It landed hard thud and flailed for a moment in pain. It managed to get back up and Jory could swear that it glared at her. The green one came back around to check on its friend. The rust colored one snapped at it in anger. They growled and hissed at one another for a few moments. Almost like they were having an argument. Jory took advantage of this and let loose another arrow at the rust colored one. From what she could tell, it appeared to be the leader of the two. Possibly stronger than the green one.

The arrow hit its target. The stone tip penetrated the left eye rust colored one. It wailed in pain as it flopped about trying to claw out the arrow. The green one once again tried to help, but its friend just lashed out and bit the green on the neck. Blood seeped from the wound as it pulled away with its head lowered in submission. It looked defeated as it looked back up to Jory. The rust colored one looked furious as it managed to rip the arrow from its eye. Its crimson blood dripped down to the canyon floor; staining the sand red. It let out the most primal screech in Jory's direction. With a burning madness in its remaining eye, the rust colored lizard furiously clawed at the stone trying to get up to Jory.

"BACK OFF!" Jory screamed at it as she drew back her bow once more.

The arrow landed in the lizard's snout. It didn't even react this time. Jory could tell that its anger was fueling its desire to tear her apart. It would take more than her bow and arrows to put this infuriated beast down. Stowing her bow, Jory pulled out her metal pike. She had just finished sharpening it that morning. She had found just enough metal to make some tools and this pike. She could only pray that it held together. Her life… the little chicken rat's life was on the line.

"One more chance," she prepared to strike the rabid lizard, "Back off and run while you can!"

It didn't listen. It snapped its jaws and forced its way up the stone. Its claws left deep gouges as it crawled towards her. It wasn't about to give up. It wanted to taste her blood.

Clenching her pike as hard as she could, Jory brought it back, "You ain't getting us today!"

She thrusted the sharpened metal pike down at the lizard's face. Just as she brought it down, it was opening its mouth. The metal tip of the pike pierced straight through the back of its throat as if she was cutting a tender piece of meat. With the last bit of its strength, the lizard took hold of the pike with its teeth. This caused Jory to fall forward with it. She quickly wrapped her arms around the chicken rat to protect it from landing too hard. Landing with a thud, Jory didn't have time to check herself for injuries. Instead, she got up as quickly as she could while pulling out her remaining spear for protection. The rust colored lizard was twitching uncontrollably as blood poured from its injuries. It tried to call its friend, but nothing came out other than bloody gurgles. Jory was relieved to see that one beast was down, but the other one had disappeared from sight. She knew that it had to still be in the area. Scanning her surroundings, Jory tried her best to remain calm and observe everything. There was still no sign of it. Even the chicken rat had climbed up onto her shoulder to help search for the missing predator.

Grr… Shriek! The chicken rat jumped from Jory's shoulder and straight onto the face of the green lizard. They struggled for a bit as the chicken rat clawed at the lizard with all its might. It managed to get some good gashes at the already open wound on the lizard's neck. The green one wasn't about to let the chicken rat get the better of it. It bucked and threw its head about so quickly that it caused the chicken rat to go flying. The green lizard was about to go and finish it off, but Jory was quick to point her spear at it.

"I don't think so," she hissed through her clenched teeth, "Get out of here before I do the same to you," she motioned to the fallen lizard that was barely alive.

It seemed to ponder her words as its eyes went back and forth between her and its fallen friend. It wouldn't retreat, but it wasn't going to attack. Instead, it came over its slowly dying comrade. It began to purr and rub the rust colored one's head. Maybe trying to comfort it. The other tried to answer back, but still only bloody gurgles came out. With a loud caw like call, the green opened its jaws and brought them around the throat of its friend. It held on until the rust colored lizard stopped moving. Blood dripped from the green one's mouth as it turned to Jory. There was a mixture of sadness, defeat and anger in its eyes. Jory could see that it wouldn't do anything, but she still kept her spear at the ready. She wouldn't be getting back her pike, but that was a small price to pay for her and the chicken rat's life. Scooping up the little critter, she backed away from the mourning creature that had laid down next to its dead companion. Jory knew that she had to make her get away and quickly. Somehow her legs managed to run all the way back to her hole in the wall excuse for a shelter. Pulling the wooden spikes closed, Jory was finally able to collapse in her cave.

"What the hell was that?!" she finally yelled as soon as everything that just happened hit her.

The chicken rat agreed with her as it collapsed right next to her. It let out a loud sigh of relief as it had managed to survive somehow. That didn't last long as it suddenly jumped up and started to look around in a panic.

"What's wrong with you?" Jory was confused by its antics.

It sat on the ground looking at its empty claws and had such a sad look in its eyes.

"Oh…," Jory finally understood, "You worried about the map you stole from me?"

It nodded its head.

Jory smirked as she rubbed the chicken rat's head, "Don't worry about it," she let out a sigh, "I'll just have to make a new one. Better to lose a thing, than a strange little friend," she rolled over onto her back.

The chicken rat teared up at her kind words. It suddenly bounded out of the cave and through the wooden barrier. Jory didn't know what it was up to. She kind of hoped that it would come back. Her wish came true as it squeezed back through the spike wall. It stopped in front of her and presented a purple berry to her.

"Is that for me?" she asked before she would take it.

It placed it down and pushed it towards her.

She smiled, "Thanks," she picked it up and bit it in half, "Here. I know you like them too."

It wiggled with delight as it took the half and greedily devoured it. Jumping up onto her chest, it began to rub its head against her face. It kind of hurt, but Jory accepted it. Finally settling down, it laid down for a nap.

"Well," Jory smirked once more, "I guess this means that we're friends now… Ha…," she laughed, "What a strange turn of events… If you're going to be sticking around, I can't keep calling you chicken rat… That's too long of a name," she thought for a moment, "You like to steal, but Thief is a bit too serious and on the nose… Oh," an idea came to her, "How about I call you Bandit? Kind of playful and describes you pretty well," she began to stroke the critter, "What do you think?"

It just let out a low coo. Jory took this as an approval of its new name.

"Alright then Bandit. My name is Jory Evers," she settled in for a well deserved rest, "It's nice to finally have a friend in this desolate place… You are my friend right?" she looked down at it, "Yeah… we're friends," she convinced herself as she closed her eyes.