Helena Walker: The Path

Lava coated cave

Athena descended further and further, finally landing upon ink coloured sand. We were in the very centre of the ark,  right above the redwood forest.

I was given a map by the howling wolves of what they described as a 'decently accurate map.' I couldn't say for certain how accurate that was but it was the only lead for me to know where to go. Right in the centre of the island was a large redwood forest, each tree was absolutely massive. They were thick enough not to be chopped down and tall enough to rip through clouds. At least a few hundred metres up. I'd have to be careful going through the redwood itself, apparently a large cat like creature would pounce at nearby explorers and maul them to the grave. Yikes. Fortunately for me, I was just barely on the outskirts of this dense forest.

I removed my fur clothing entirely and hopped onto the black sand. My feet took a jolt as I stepped on it, my idiocy somehow forgetting how black absorbed heat. I quickly tiptoed my way into the water. I'd set up this place before as a way of simply letting off some steam. With a wooden fence around a small portion of the river. This river stretched all along the island, most water sources were interconnected with each other. I felt the heat beneath my feet dissipate as I stepped into the cool water, Athena using her wing to shade me as I descended into the water, only my head above it. I tossed my old set of fur clothing into the running water itself, hopefully somewhat cleaning it. My arms reached upwards to find my notebook in Athena's saddle, which I begrudgingly had to stand for.

After retrieving my notes I plopped myself back down onto the water caressed sand, letting my body soak in solitary. This island was dangerous at any moment in all honesty. There would always be a threat. However people of the Ark had found ways to counteract these dangers. Having a large creature protecting you was one way of keeping yourself safe, as I was doing with Athena. One of the strengths of the human species is its ability to create tool. While this skill isn't exclusive to humans, we by far do it the best. Even I as an inexperienced architect had constructed this fence which protected me from all the piranhas which would try to snap at my feet.

I felt the stress leave my body as I flicked open my notebook, looking through it. Though this wasn't my dossier notebook, it did have a record of all the creatures I'd looked at in my months on the island. I wrote down the T. Rex name and then looked at all the others.

Dire wolf, argentavis, woolly rhino, carnotaurus, yutyrannus... huh? I looked at the first 5 of my list and checked them again, then my eyes dropped down to observe more. Daedon, smilodon, purlovia, dodo, dilophosaurus, utahraptor, troodon...

After looking through the entire list, it was as if a lightbulb had been comically placed above my head, I quickly stood up, water splashing on my bare body as well as Athena's feathers, who squawked in a startled manner.

"Sorry girl." I said as I reached into her saddle, grabbing out a pen and one of the boxes I used for my explorer notes, I ripped a page out of my notebook and sat back in the water, I started scribbling another explorer note.

"Helena, you're a dipstick.

Going through my notes, I've realised that there are more predators than prey across this entire island by almost double. That's the opposite of how any ecosystem is supposed to work. I can't believe it took a Tyrannosaurus frolicking through the snow for me to see this. It's plain as day.

What to make of it? Add in the human factor, and it's impossible for this island to continue as it is by natural means. So, what, is this island's wildlife being monitored and curated somehow?"

It was more proof that this Ark was a controlled system, an idea I'd proposed back when I was staying with the howling wolves full time though I had nothing to back it up with. I looked towards the note and added a few extra lines.