Chương 7: I guess I am dead.

They betrayed me, dropped me, and left me for dead. Why? I didn't do anything wrong. But instead, the group reminded me of my crew, and Aeris reminded me of Iris. Spending few hours with them felt like that I wasn't alone anymore. But how would I have known that they would betray me. Guess I can't trust anyone after all. I am sorry, Iris, I've tried. Footsteps approaching me. I couldn't keep my promise to you. Huh… I guess some promises are meant to be broken… It was here. My vision was fading away.

I could see its face leaning down over my head. 0: 01 I guess I am dead. Mom. Dad. It looks like I am going to see you after all. 0: 00 Everything went dark. The last time someone left me to die, I was 6 years old. Flashback"Nova, dad is going to count to ten. Go hide somewhere, he will come to find you." Mom said. I ran through our house, giggling, finding a place to hide, I squeezed under the kitchen table. The tablecloth hung down like a curtain. It was a perfect hiding spot.

"Nova... where are you hiding? Dad will find you..." I pressed my hand over my mouth to stop from laughing. He was searching everywhere except where I was hiding. I'd outsmarted him! But minutes passed. Dad's footsteps faded. Everything was silent. I crawled out from under the table.

"Dad?" No one answered.

"Dad? Mom?" My chest tightened. Where did they go? I ran through the house, checking their room. It was empty. I checked all the rooms, all empty.

"Mom! Dad!" I was about to cry when hands grabbed me from behind.

"BOO!" I screamed. Then burst into tears.

"Shh, shh, it's okay. We're here, Nova." Mom picked me up, holding me close.

"We were just playing."

"You— you left me!" I sobbed into her shoulder. She smiled.

"Nova, look here", Mom said firmly.

"We won't ever leave you again, okay?"

"You promise?" Dad patted my head. Mom kissed my forehead.

"We promise," they said together. One week later. Dad came running into the house.

"Ashley! we need to leave. Now." Mom's face went pale.

"What's going on, Mark?"

"I'll explain on the way. Where's Nova?" I was in my room, drawing. When I heard them call my name, I quickly sat down and pretended I hadn't been listening.

"Nova, we're going on a trip. You, me, and Mom." Dad smiled.

"We're all going? Yay!" I grabbed my stuffed bear and my drawing book. Moments later, we were in the car.

"Nova, here— listen to this song." Mom put headphones over my ears. Music filled my head. I could see Mom and Dad talking in the front seat, their lips were moving urgently. But I couldn't hear what they were saying. Then the crash happened. I remember, Glass shattering and the car spinning, rolling over down the hill. When my eyes opened, Mom was carrying me, running through trees.

"Mom, where are we going?"

"Just a little further. Don't worry, Nova."

"Where's Dad?" She stopped. Put me down behind a fallen log.

"Nova, listen to me." Her hands were shaking.

"We're playing hide and seek again. Dad's trying to find us. You hide here, okay? I'll hide somewhere else."

"No! I want to come with you!"

"Nova." Her voice cracked. She was scared.

"You have to hide here. That's the rule. Okay?" I nodded, tears dropping down her face. She kissed my forehead.

"I love you so much, my angel." Then she was gone. I waited behind the log, hugging my bear. Seconds changed into minutes. Then I heard. BANG BANG Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. BANG Three gunshots. My heart stopped and my stomach dropped. A cold weight settled deep inside my chest. I ran. Didn't think. Just ran toward the sound.

"Mom! Dad!" I found her lying in the grass. Blood spreading across their body.

"Dad! Wake up." He didn't move.

"Mom!" I dropped to my knees beside her.

"Mom, wake up! WAKE UP!" Her eyes fluttered open. Barely.

"Nova..." Her voice was so quiet.

"Listen to me..." I leaned close, sobbing.

"Mom and Dad... are going somewhere far away..." Each word of hers took an effort.

"But we'll always love you... no matter what..."

"NO!" I grabbed her hand.

"No, you can't!" My eyes kept tears within, waiting then I burst out crying.

"You promised you wouldn't leave me!" Mom's fingers squeezed mine. Weak. So weak. She smiled slowly.

"Some promises..." She coughed. Blood on her lips.

"Some promises... are meant to be broken... Nova." Her hands touched my cheek one last time. That hand slowly dropped. Her eyes closed.

"Mom? Mom!" My voice broke. She didn't answer.

"Mom!" I called her, shook her over and over. She never answered again. Present My eyes were opening… the sunlight was blinding my vision. Every part of my body screamed. My ribs where Aeris had kicked me. My jaw where she'd punched me, and the bitter taste of that drink still stayed in my mouth. I sat up slowly. Urgh.. my head. It's hurting. Where am I? Last night's incident triggered my memories.

"Oh…right, that happened last night —" Suddenly, I remembered I was going to be eaten by the velociraptor. I turned my head. The velociraptor sat three feet away. Watching me. My breath hitched, I moved back, extending my back of the hand.

"Stay away!" I whispered with fear. The velociraptor was sitting still and stared me in a curious way. What's going on, I thought you were gonna eat me…. A Flicker. Text appeared. THE NOVA LOG A HARMLESS VELOCIRAPTOR DETECTED. (DO YOU WANT TO ACTIVATE ALPHA PERSONA) Wait what! Harmless? Did I read that right? You are telling me that this velociraptor is harmless?

"How can it be harmless? It doesn't make sense" Velociraptors are carnivorous creatures after all... THE UNIQUE SKILL APEX PERSONA CAUSED AN IMPACT ON THE VELOCIRAPTOR. NO MALICIOUS INTENT DETECTED. Does it mean that my Apex Persona skill made a huge impression on it? That's why it followed me? Wait if I think about it, that does makes sense; it saw me earlier and didn't attack. But why did it followed me? Does it think that I am its Alpha now? It tilted its head… and stared at me. Everyone I trusted, left me.

Those fake promises, but despite being a carnivore predator, you stayed and protected me. All night, you didn't attack; you guarded me. You saved me. You made no promises, but sure behaved like you kept one.

"You are one hell of a stalker, you know that, right?" The velociraptor tilted its head. I let out a dry laugh. I walked to it and stood close to it.

"You saved me." I patted its head.

"I guess I owe you one." It chirped. I never thought a day would come when I would pat a velociraptor's head… This world is weird. I guess I can still trust someone.

"I guess I can trust you." I smiled.

"Activate Alpha Persona," I said loudly. The display opened. THE UNIQUE SKILL ALPHA PERSONA: ACTIVATED. SPECIES: VELOCIRAPTOR LOCATED. A white diamond hovered over its head. I remembered white indicator meant 90 to 100 % success. (DO YOU WANT TO TAME THE VELOCIRAPTOR?)"Well, what do you say?" It stared.

"Do you like to be my familiar?" It tilted its head. I let out a dry laugh.

"You do this often, huh… I'll take that as a yes, then."

"Yes", I said loudly. TAMING SUCCESSFUL GIVE A NAME TO YOUR FAMILIAR. ____________. Name, huh… let's see…

"How about Stalk – o – saurus… or Veloci— stalker. It suits you by the way…" I laughed. It rubbed its face into me, Maybe it knew I was making fun of it.

"Hey, hey… I am just kidding." It stopped rubbing. I slowly extended my hand. The velociraptor could bite it off in one snap. Those jaws were built for it. But it didn't. It leaned forward, letting me touch the scar under its jaw. The wound was rough beneath my fingers. It had healed, but left a permanent scar. It blinked once. Staring at me. I smiled.

"I'll name you..."

"Scar," I said. SPECIES: VELOCIRAPTOR FAMILIAR NAME: SCAR. (DO YOU ACCEPT?)"Yes", I said. The velociraptor accepted the name, and it somehow acknowledged the name Scar. Scar chirped softly. The sound was gentle. Somehow by this ability I was able to understand her emotions. I couldn't read her mind like a telepath but I could feel what she felt.

"I guess I am really her Alpha now."

"Alright, Scar, what do we do now?" My stomach growled.

"I guess we are going hunting." she chirped and stood up. I think she can understand me now that I am her Alpha; well, that's cool. We walked in the forest; this time, Scar didn't stalk me; she walked beside me. And sometimes looking back to make sure I was keeping up with her. She was protecting me. Somehow, I was not afraid of this forest anymore, maybe because I had a scar on my side.

"Scar, did you find anything?" She looked me and chirped. Then went running in the deep forest.

"Hey… wait. Where are you going?" I chased her. Suddenly she stopped.

"Hey, why did you run off?" Scar chirped.

"Oh, I see, A rabbit." Wait rabbits? I thought rabbits didn't exist in the Jurassic period. But it was in front of me…

"Alright, go ahead. Let's surround it." We circled it. Scar didn't stay and snatched on the rabbit, but the rabbit ran away in bush, and scar went crashing into the tree. I couldn't help it and burst out laughing.

"Phew… Hahaha," she looked at me.

"Great hunter!" I laughed hard. It was hard to believe that a velociraptor couldn't hunt a rabbit…

"Maybe you are just good at stalking." Scar made an unusual sound which was similar to the dogs. When they make a whining sound. Scar turned away as if it was embarrassed.

"Oh, come on. Don't be like that." I grinned.

"You saved me from those hunters. You are pretty strong. Missing one rabbit doesn't change that you know." Scar looked at me and moved beside me.

"Alright", I patted its head "Let's try again, okay…" she chirped. We walked further, and Scar stayed close to me. We spotted two rabbits this time.

"Alright, Scar, stay here and wait for my signal, okay…" she tilted her head.

"Good." I moved quietly towards the opposite direction of the scar and slowly walked towards the rabbits. I extended my hand towards scar, I didn't speak, just walked as close as possible. Now both rabbits were looking at me, so I signaled Scar to come. This time, Scar did not rush; she walked slowly, behaved like a predator. The rabbits were distracted and watching my movements. The other rabbit turned toward Scar.

"Now, Scar!" I said loudly. She snatched the rabbits by the claws and grabbed them.

"Good, there you go." Scar killed the rabbits, and we carried to the camp where Aeris and their group left me for dead.

"Huh, did they leave their weapons?" These weapons are ancient, but are not effective in doing any damage. Maybe I could craft an axe and a pickaxe out of them. I lit the fire, gutted the rabbit and started cooking the meat. Scar looked confused. She watched me as I cooked the meat.

"Oh... right, you, eat this raw. Don't worry when you try this, you are in for a treat." I said. Scar watched the meat carefully.

"Alright, scar here you go." I offered and put the meat in front of her Scar stared. She looked confused as I cooked the meat. Just watching me.

"Go ahead, try it," I said But she kept watching me.

"See, I am eating too." My taste buds felt really good; it had been so long since I ate this tender meat.

"It's so good." Scar looked at me as I ate, tilted its head as I muttered those words. She then looked at her food and this time she did not hesitate and took her first bite. She started eating rapidly.

"I told you, it was good." By the time I ate few bites, Scar had already finished her meat and was eyeing on the meat that I was eating.

"Hey, hey… You ate yours. This is mine." I said. She walked towards me. I stood up and raised my hand.

"No, scar this is mine." She stalked closer. I took another bite backing away. She followed.

"Stay… Scar." I extended my hand Her eyes were dead focused on the meat. She jumped. I dodged laughing. It was like we were playing a game of tag. I decided to give up. After all, it was new to her and she has bigger appetite than me.

"Alright, you win. Here." I tossed it in the air. Scar jumped and grabbed it.

"Happy now," I said. She chirped, then walked over and rubbed her head against my leg. I went back to the campsite and sat on the log. And started making an axe and a pickaxe from the equipment. Scar came after eating its meal.

"So you are full now," I said Scar suddenly turned around and hissed at the forest. I looked at the scar. Then looked in that direction.

"What is it, Scar?" She definitely sensed something dangerous nearby. We need to move. Now. Scar could run away, but I don't stand a chance.

"Come on, Scar, let's move" I grabbed my supplies and started running north. Towards the Misfit City.

"How much further is Misfit City?" I asked. TECHNOLOGY LOG THE NEAREST CITY: THE MISFIT CITY DETECTED. DISTANCE: 18. 2 KILOMETERS"Still 18 kilometres to go!" I said Scar hissed in the direction. Then looked at me and chirped, moving her neck backwards.

"What is it, scar?" She moved in front of me and moved her neck back again; she was telling me something.

"Wait, are you telling me that I should climb on you?" She chirped. I wasn't sure it was a good idea, but we didn't have any time to spare. Scar seemed to be in a rush. Maybe something dangerous was approaching faster. It's the only option, or else the Log would trigger it in urgent quest, and I don't want that.

"Alright, Scar." I climbed on her back.

"Let's move towards that direction." I pointed the finger, she chirped and started running north. For two straight days I was hunted by dinosaurs, and now I am riding one, never thought my life would turn out this way. Scar ran pretty fast. Faster than any horse could back on Earth. This was like a dream come true to ride a velociraptor. I felt the wind passing by. The ride felt like I was riding an ostrich. For a moment, I forgot everything, but then we hit a dead end.

A massive cliff appeared, I looked up, Endless. Looked both sides, it just extended as far as my eyes went. There was no further way ahead. How is it possible? Wait, but Aeris's group were from the Misfit city, that's what she told. That's where she told they were heading. So how did she — Was that a lie?

"What do we do now, Scar?" A Flicker"Huh?" SURVIVAL LOG QUEST: CLIMB THE CLIFF DESTINATION: CLIFF CAVE DISTANCE: 300 METRES TIME LEFT: 03: 00: 00 FAILURE: THE LOG WILL PRODUCE INFRASONIC SOUND TO ATTRACT… I looked up, in the distance and I saw them. My heart stilled, The smile on my face completely vanished. The pickaxe slipped from my fingers, clattered on the rock and fell down on the ground. The shock left me speechless. This was not a joke. This was a penalty like no other. The most dangerous one until now…

The Log penalty was to attract… A FLOCK OF PTEROSAURS A flock of Pterosaurs… The flying reptiles! The display changed. TOOLS REQUIRE DYNAMIC ROPE: 1/1 (AVAILABLE PARACHUTE CORD) MAKESHIFT PICKAXE: 1/1 (AVAILABLE MAKESHIFT TOOL) CARABINERS: 2/2 (AVAILABLE PARACHUTE CARABINER) HARNESS: 1/1 (AVAILABLE PARACHUTE HARNESS) Wait, I have already fulfilled the requirements. (DO YOU ACCEPT) Just a moment after those words, I realized something. It hit me hard. I looked at the scar. She can't climb the cliff.

"No", I immediately said. How can I accept that? I was about to lose another one. Mom, Dad, Iris, my crew and now Scar… I can't… Text changed. DECLINING THE QUEST WILL AUTOMATICALLY RESULT IN A PENALTY ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO DECLINE YES/ NO No, this can't be happening…. Do I have to leave her?