ARK: The Island

Chapter 9: The Wonderful Writhing Swamps

I awake to something licking my face. Groaning, I sit up, trying to remember where I was. My body feels really heavy, and my face sticky with sweat and something else. I blink hard, and look up to see... "Flame? Buddy!" Despite the dizziness in my head, I jump up and hug my raptor. He chortles happily, and licks my face again. There's some sort of green goop on the ground, along with a dead dinosaur, which must have been the one that attacked me earlier. So Flame was the one who saved me. "Thanks buddy," I say, giving him a pat. The dinosaur really wasn't as big as I originally thought, even smaller than Flame really. At first, I couldn't figure out what it was, until I saw the frills. Then it clicked. The frills, the goop; this was a Dilophosaurus, another famous dino from Jurassic Park. Everything I've come across so far has been recognizable, but I may not be so lucky in the future.

I use some of the stored water I have to rinse off my face, and I give the rest to Flame. He laps it up eagerly, and then we continue on. After another hour or so of picking our way through the forest, we come to what appears to be...

A swamp. Terrific. And I can tell right away that this is not a friendly place. To my left there's a pack of dilos attacking a parasaur, and to my right... My stomach does a flip. What is that? It appears to be a crocodile, but it's enormous. Like, twice the length a normal one should be. Something suddenly buzzes near my face, and I nearly have a heart attack. It's a giant bug! Disgusting! I turn back to look for the crocodile, but it's not there. Sighing, I look for a way around the swamp, but the only way through is straight through the water. The other side and continuation of the woods is about 50 yards away. I see something surface in the grimy water, and then disappear. I shiver. This place did not make me feel comfortable. Flame starts to growl, and I catch movement in the grass. Black scales and yellow eyes. The crocodile. Suddenly, in a split second it lunges towards us. "GO!" I scream, kicking Flame into the water. He lurches forward, and we splash into the swamp. The crocodile misses, and Flame flies past trees, plants, and roots. Despite the dangerous situation, I can't help but admire his agility. I catch eye of several things I wish I hadn't. Scary fish, another croc, and something that looked like a giant leech. It was disgusting. We reach the water's edge and scramble up the small beach. I pull on the reins and turn Flame around. The crocodile isn't following, however a large dinosaur is. My eyes widen, and I turn towards the woods again. Is that a T-Rex?! "GO FLAME GO!!" In seconds, we are darting between trees again. The thing is right behind us, I can hear it. Flame snarls and takes a massive leap over some rocks, and the creature behind us lets out a deafening roar. However, Flame and I don't stop. We keep running and running, and we don't slow until we reach a giant kapok tree. I dismount, gasping. Flame does not seem to be alarmed by anything, so I assume this area is safe. We sit in silence for a few moments, catching our breath.

"Well bud, I think we're-"

ROAAAAAR!!!!

Right then, the possible T-Rex comes barreling through the trees. Despite his fatigue, Flame does not hesitate to attack. In one stride, he is up on the thing's back, tearing away at it's hide. I throw myself to my feet. I'm not leaving Flame this time. It is then that I quickly realize I only have a knife as a weapon. So I resort to rocks on the forest floor. At least it's better then nothing. Flame manages to grab one of the horns on the back of the thing's head, but the other dinosaur grabs his tail, throwing him to the ground. It's pupils narrow into slits, and with a guttural growl, it goes for the kill. In that split second, I realize that I've got one chance, and one chance only to save my raptor. Without even fully registering it, I grab my knife, and hurl it at the beast just as it's jaws begin to close around Flame's throat.

For a moment, there is nothing, and I wonder if I am too late, but then the carnivore suddenly falls, its body dropping like a puppet without strings. Flame is up almost immediately, and begins feasting on its corpse. I take a few breaths, and then go and retrieve my knife, which had imbedded itself in the dinosaur's eye.

With a sigh of relief, I sit down and eat some of the meat Indra gave to me. Today has been so hectic. Hopefully by tonight we have someplace to sleep. Even if it was just a sturdy tree, or a rock. I would take anything at this point, just as long as-

SCREE...

Flame suddenly drops to the ground. I'm next to him in seconds, trying to find the culprit. Flame appears to be unconscious, and there is a bright blue arrow stuck in the side of his neck. I yank it out, scared. Someone is here, hunting us. I need to drag Flame away, or find our attacker. It looked like-

"Try to escape, and your dead," A voice whispers in my ear. A knife is pressed to my throat. There's some rustling in the brush ahead, and two camouflaged figures emerge. Outnumbered, I slowly raise my hands above my head. The guy behind me binds my wrists and yanks me to my feet. Angrily, I kick him in the shins, and he lightly slices my arm with the knife. I grit my teeth as my kidnapper shoves me forward. "You two, get the beast. He will be useful in the army." Army? What army? The two other people tie Flame's legs up, and begin to drag him through the brush. "Hey! Don't drag him!" I shout. The man snarls. "We can do whatever we want. Move out!" I begin to fight, hard. The man growls, and I feel a sting in my back. Then everything goes black.