the second chapter...
[Rt-13+]
This chapter contains mild violence, and mention of blood.
Shadows in the Dark…
The forest was dark; the branches at the tops of the trees were cluttered and tangled, allowing little to no light to squeeze in. Here and there, little streams of light broke through the dense tree-tops and made their way to the moss covered ground, like spears piercing a mighty beast. Other than that however, was darkness; total darkness. Cloud had stopped in one of the spears of light, and began to rummage through his backpack. Beneath the Pokéballs, Potions, Antidotes, and Rice balls were clothes, and beneath that…was the bottom of the bag.
“Son of a…how could I have not packed a flashlight?” he cursed himself.
Great, he thought menacingly,
without a flashlight, how am I supposed to get through this forest?
He sat himself down on a nearby boulder and surveyed his surroundings carefully. Not that much could be seen, but nonetheless, he stared, not to take in the environment, but to think of his next move. Because of this, he did not notice Cano and Scyko high in the trees, watching over him; his guardians.
Cloud sneezed, rubbed his nose and continued to think.
“OW!” he screamed in pain, rubbing the top of his head vigorously.
He immediately turned his gaze skyward looking for whatever had hit him. But there was nothing. Just the same view he had seen before; branches and leaves and darkness. He lowered his gaze and went back to his thoughts, no longer wondering what hit him.
Finally, after several long minutes of deep thought, he came up with a solution: go back home, and grab a flashlight…He really didn’t want to, because he was already deep in the forest, and turning back now would most definitely make him very, very late. But to continue blindly was a risk he was not willing to take.
Cloud rose to his feet and grabbed his backpack, but the second he lifted it up it slipped from his hand, landing on its side with a loud clonk. Curious, Cloud opened the side pocket. Inside was a relatively new, black and red flame embossed flashlight, thicker than a pencil, yet no longer than a needle. He smiled to himself as he noticed a little note located in the same pocket that the flashlight had been. It read:
Son,
It's funny how you packed essentials for your trip (Pokéballs, Potions and the like) but you forgot to pack a flashlight >_<. What were you thinking? It’s a good thing I checked your bag before you left; you'd be going nowhere fast without one. It’s a pretty small flashlight, but don’t underestimate it; the light from this particular flashlight shines brighter than any other! I came across this light back during my journey. I remember training with Cano, and literally stumbling into an underground cave. Cano was still a little Growlithe at the time, but was as he has always been; overprotective, always jumping the gun, even before the trigger was pulled. When I awoke, we were already deep in the cave. It was dark in that cave, darker than a Scyko’s eyes…anyway I’m rambling point is deep in that cave was this flashlight, and with it, Cano and I were able to leave the cave. I’ve had it ever since that day, and it’s never let me down. Now, I am giving it to you my son. Hope your journey is filled with fun times, good friends and new sights to be seen.
Chase
“…Alright! I’ve got a flashlight!” Cloud shouted upon finishing the note.
Then out of nowhere he struck a pose, holding the flashlight high in the air clasped in his right hand, with his left at his side, and his head looking up into the darkness, as if to show a giant his accomplishment. A look of confused embarrassment came across his face when he finished posing.
“W-where did that come from? Well I’ll never do that again,” he finished quickly lowering his right hand and looking from left to right, as if someone somewhere could have seen him.
“Let’s try this again,” he said to himself.
He grabbed his backpack once more, daring it to fall again then swung it over his back. Still clutching the flashlight in his right hand he turned it on, and was amazed at how bright it was; the light from this little gadget shone as if Cloud held a little Sun in his hand. Everything from directly in front of him, to at least 5 yards was brightly lit, and clearly visible.
“This…is amazing. So much power in such a little device! With this, I’ll make it in no time!”
He leapt from the moss covered boulder onto a fallen branch, grinding his way toward the next boulder, unaware that he was being watched, being followed by his guardians.
Earlier…
Cano was helpless, his every move controlled by Scyko and his Psychic attack. Cano had leapt from his hiding place after thinking something terrible was about to befall little Cloud. Turns out, he had just sneezed; too bad Cano had already reacted. It was his nature and he had meant well by it, but because of his actions he was now hanging directly over Cloud, thanks to Scyko. Scyko had quickly reacted which wasn’t normal for him, and caught Cano above Cloud’s head. As quickly as it had happened, one might have thought it had been previously orchestrated; however Scyko was used to Cano’s over-reacting personality, and was therefore ready for anything.
So there they were the three of them; one child and two full grown pokémon in the middle of a dark forest. To any passerby the scene would seem hilarious; there sat Cloud, deep in thought atop a moss covered boulder, with a full grown Arcanine floating mere inches above his head surrounded in a light blue aura similar to the one surrounding Scyko’s hand. Cano turned his head back toward Scyko, and curled his snout into toothy grin. A grin that sent a shiver down Scyko’s spine, making him lose his ‘grip’ for merely a second. In that second, Cano’s snout hit Cloud’s head. Scyko’s eyes widened, and he quickly regained his ‘grip’ on Cano. He lifted Cano quickly into the trees, making sure to hide himself and Cano from Cloud; he had merely wanted to watch over the young trainer till Barden Town, but Cano was making this continually difficult.
Cloud hadn’t noticed them, and went back to his thinking. Scyko sighed and turned to scold Cano, only to find Cano breathing very heavily inches from his face. A worried look appeared across Scyko’s face, and he began to sweat profusely. Cano’s eyes were gone, replaced by complete and utter blackness; it was reeeeeeally scary. Scyko may have known to except anything and everything from Cano, but at this point he was completely stumped as to what Cano’s next move would be; and was a thought scarier than Cano’s eyes at this moment. The seconds dragged on, and soon Scyko had summed up enough courage to at least try to calm Cano.
“A-al ala,” he said, his hands trembling in front of him.
His efforts appeared fruitless; Cano’s snout curled ever more viciously with every word, his muscles tightening, his claws digging ever deeper in the branch of the tree on which they stood.
He decided to add quickly, “ALAKA ALA AL! ALAKAZAM!”
Cano seemed to take these words in, ponder them. Scyko began to breathe, slow and shallow breaths, but breathing nonetheless. Cano’s eyes lightened, his snout uncurled, his muscles loosen, and his claws retract. Then he did something he had never done before; he licked Scyko. Scyko was scared out of his mind. This was something he had never in his memory, seen Cano do. He wondered for a moment if it was a taste test; as crazy as it sounds, he wouldn’t put it past Cano.
Cano flinched; or at least that’s what it looked like to Scyko. He failed to notice that Cloud was up and moving, seemingly ready to leave the area and continue to Barden. However, Cano saw and was ready to tail him. Scyko noticed this, and turned to the area in which Cloud was sitting…only to find that Cloud was no longer there! Scyko turned sharply, ready to have to rope Cano in, but saw that he was already following Cloud deeper into the forest. Once again, Scyko found himself lagging behind as he leapt from tree branch to tree branch.
________________
Cloud was gaining speed and came close to losing control. At the speed he was going, that wouldn’t be a good thing. So he tried to slow down progressively, to maintain control. He continued to leap from branch to branch to boulder. Ahead of him was a large clearing, devoid of the boulders and fallen branches he needed to continue. Since he had his special light, he was a great distance away. This gave him the time he needed to think up a solution to his problem.
He was closer now, and still had no idea how he was going to get across it. He was approaching fast; fifteen feet…twelve feet…nine feet…5 feet. Then an idea hit him as hard as that mysterious object did earlier. He switched from the branch he was on to one that curved upward because he would need as much a boost he could get. At the right moment, he leapt from the tip of the curved branch, and soared into the air. It was the most exhilarating, and positively frightening thing he had ever experienced. He couldn’t help but smile as he flew through the air. The branch he was aiming for was within his grasp. He reached up as far as his arms would allow, but grabbed nothing but air. And then a horrible realization came to him; he was dropping.
His arms flailed as he dropped like a rock to the forest floor. He couldn’t tell how far he was from the ground, but guessed that it wouldn’t take long for him to reach it. And he was right. Within seconds, his body collided with the ground as he landed on his side. The air was knocked out of him as if a Graveler had tackled him directly in the stomach. He rolled for a few feet, then caught a bump and sailed into the air for a few seconds, then came back down, rolled and flipped. He came to a sudden stopped when he hit the trunk of a tree. Cloud’s head was still spinning, but his body was too thrashed to move anymore.
Once his head stopped spinning, he felt the pain. It was unbearable! His whole body ached; he had never in his life felt pain even remotely close to this. And to top it off, he felt like he had to throw up. He leaned to his left, causing himself great pain in the process, and threw up. Afterward, he gathered all the strength left in his body, and pushed himself back against the tree. As he sat there, body throbbing, and vomit dribbling down his lip, he began to drift in and out of consciousness.
No, he thought,
I can’t pass out…I’ll never make it if I do…I…gotta…stay aw…awa…awake…
And he was out like a light, slumped against the tree, battered and bruised. Meanwhile hundreds of yards away from Cloud were three people. Three dark people, faces concealed, and heavily cloaked walking slowly amongst the tall dark trees of the forest. They walked in silence, their cloaks swaying lightly with every step. Though their faces were concealed, it was easy to decipher their genders; two were female while one was male. This was clear by their physiques, though you had to look closely to see the differences between the three because the all were heavily layered by many cloaks.
One of the women was tall, about five foot five, and appeared to be slender, though this was hard to tell due to the numerous cloaks she wore; the second woman was shorter than the first, but a bit taller than Cloud, and was a little heavier than the first; finally the man was tallest of all standing at least several inches above the taller female. From the looks of his cloak, he was rather muscular. Each of them held a duffel bag strapped on each of their backs. These bags seemed to be full, but of what was a mystery; finally, the smallest woman spoke, her voice soft and smooth with a hint of danger hidden within.
“Myner, we have been walking for hours. Are we lost?”
She had addressed the taller woman, who seemed to be their leader.
The one called Myner responded harshly, “We are not lost. We’ve been walking for hours because this happens to be the largest forest in the region! What did you expect?”
“I would’ve expected that we, as Shadows, could find an easier and faster way through this annoyance. I’m tired of all these trees, this dirt, this…nature,” she spat with disgust, “Why didn’t we just mow this forest down! Or better yet, find another way?!”
This time the man spoke, his voice gruff and scratchy, yet calming; almost an exact opposite of the shorter female.
“Because as Shadows, we are to attract no attention what-so-ever so that we remain Shadows, understand? That is why we’re walking through the forest, rather than destroying it. Besides, the ‘firepower’ we brought with us wouldn’t be enough to destroy even a square foot of land.”
“Humph, I guess…whatever Syer, you’re always taking her side,” said the small woman.
“Stop whining Niyimee! Just shut up and keep walking! You’re wasting your energy if you do anything else,” Myner shouted.
If it was not clear before, it was now; Myner was their leader. Not only had she been walking in front of the other two, whatever she seemed to say last about a subject was what was accepted as the absolute end result. Neither Niyimee, nor Syer ever seemed to cross her. She didn’t look it, and there was no hint in her voice as there was in Niyimme’s, but she was not to be underestimated. Something about her could terrify even the most mentally and physically able. Emanating from her was raw power, and an unflinching determination to do whatever needed to clear anything and everything standing in her way. And no one was willing to stand in her way.
“We better pick up the pace,” Myner said suddenly, “It’s getting dark-“
“Oh, what a brilliant observation Myner, care to make another?” Niyimee mumbled sarcastically.
Myner stopped and whipped around to face Niyimee and pulled off her hood concealing her face; she had light blue-green hair, bright hazel eyes, and sharper canines than most people. Her eyes had a light glow surrounding them, and her teeth were clenched tightly together.
Through her clenched teeth, she growled, “What did you just say?”
Niyimee flinched slightly, but regained herself and answered loudly, “Nothing…nothing at all.”
Myner snorted, growled out something similar to ‘Good’, turned back around pulling up her hood, and continued to walk on. Niyimee glowered to herself and continued to follow Myner. They had a long way ahead of them.
______________
When he regained consciousness, it was darker than usual; the thin spears of light no longer pierced through the treetops. Cloud was still a little woozy, his muscles still sore, and the taste of vomit still fresh in his mouth. He tried to stand, but to no avail. He came crashing back down to the ground. Pain shot up his body and lasted for about ten seconds. Once the pain had subsided, he began he second attempt. He tripped, but caught himself, and was able to finally stand while leaning against the tree. He looked from left to right, to regain his bearings. Then it all came back to him in one quick jumbled scene; everything from the jump, to him losing consciousness. He chuckled to himself, but stopped quickly and began to hold his side, because it hurt to laugh.
The pain was excruciating and led him to wonder whether or not any of his bones had been broken. He had no way of knowing…at least not until he made it to Barden. No doubt however, that that little stunt of his cost him some time; so he wasn’t too keen on spending even more time in a hospital bed. If there aren’t any bones bursting through my flesh, he thought with a shutter, I good to go…as long as I don’t think up anymore brilliant ideas. He then prepared himself to continue his journey.
As he pushed himself away from the tree, he wavered a little and almost fell! He ended up leaning on the tree again to regain his balance. Alright, once more, he said to himself, and pushed off the tree once more. But he had pushed a little too hard that time, and couldn’t catch himself this time. He stumbled for a few seconds, and eventually stood up, amazed at this sudden save. But then the pain came back, and he forgot all about his miraculous save. So he mustered all his remaining strength and began the rest of his long walk to Barden, holding his arm as he walked.
Cloud may have been able to move, but that didn’t help him much; his movement was seriously hindered due to his bruised muscles. A Slowpoke could have made better time! But he continued on anyway, because he had made a promise to himself. So he trudged on, wincing at every step he took, whining at every tiny drop he came to. As careful as he was, he stumbled several times, and even fell to his knees. But he got back up every time; he was determined to make it to Barden.
He walked for what felt like hours, taking his time walking slowly, lest he fall again. After walking about thirty minutes, he began to hear things; voices and the sound of footsteps over the forest floor. He tried to ignore them; he even told himself that he was imagining them. But as the voices and footsteps got louder and closer, he could no longer try to delude himself. There were others in Verd Forest. Though he had no idea of their intentions, something inside him told him to avoid their attention. He couldn’t quite place it, but whenever he heard their voices, his insides twisted and an unknown fear swept over him.
Cloud began to panic and quickly looked from left to right, searching for a hiding place. With none in sight he was a sitting duck. But for what, he didn’t know…and that was what ultimately scared him the most. Realizing that he had no place to hide, he decided to head straight for them, whoever they were. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe the fear he felt was just his paranoia. Maybe they were actually nice people, people who could help him. After all, they seemed to be coming from Barden. So maybe they could tell him just how far he was from his destination.
Cloud soon regretted his decision. The closer he got to them, the more his insides twisted, and he became more and more afraid. Their voices were closer than ever now; they sounded like they were right in front of him. They would be upon him soon. There was no escape anymore. He would soon find out their intentions, and his fate. He took one last step…and fell into a pit. He was surprised he hadn’t noticed this gaping hole, though it was disguised very well, not only because of the darkness, but also because of the gigantic tree that stood over it.
Cloud hit the dirt floor and rolled. He rolled over soft dirt and jagged rocks. Rolling and rolling, he felt the skin on his arm tear, the stinging pain as dirt entered the cut, and the feel of a warm thick liquid, stream down his arm. Rolling and rolling, until finally coming to a stop directly underneath a log. He lay still for a while, practically in shock. But it was the stinging feeling in his arm that brought him back to reality. He sat up and looked at his arm; the clothing near his cut was covered in blood, but he couldn’t find the tear in his clothing. Apparently the rock tore his skin only. Thank God for small miracles huh?
When he finally looked around, Cloud noticed that this place was completely hollowed out; all of the dirt underneath the trees roots had been removed. He even had enough space to stand up straight as an arrow. Once on his feet he remembered that he had no energy left, along with great pains left over from his tremendous fall before. Realizing this he hunched over grabbing his side in pain.
Amazing what adrenaline can do to you, he chuckled to himself.
At that moment he left some dirt and debris fall on his head. He looked up and finally noticed the log he had rolled under.
It seemed it was placed there purposely; probably to hide the huge hole made by whichever species of pokémon dared to call this home. There were many holes in the log however, and it seemed that anyone or anything could look into these holes and see the pokémon’s home. Maybe that’s why it was empty now…
Suddenly the light that came from the holes in the log was gone then back then gone, then back again. Cloud looked up in time to see wide cloaked figure walked over the hole. Cloud stood stiff as a board, and tears began to well up in his eyes. As he cried quietly to himself, one word escaped his lips… “
Shadows…”
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Well I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, took a while to write thanks to writer's block -_-; that damned feeling of no new thoughts coming into my brain...grrr...I rather enjoy the ending of this chapter more than the beginning. I included the little side thing with Cano and Scyko to delve deeper into their characters. They'll play big roles in the chapters to come. Well, I'll be waiting for any comments and critiques, if that's the right context to use the word in. Seeya soon ^.~!
Chapter END
Next Time: Confronting the Darkness
It then turned to the female Shadow, who was still hunched over the duffel bag, and ordered coolly, “Kick it again.”
She seemed to have no complaints this time, as she stood and violently kicked the bag once more. The mysterious pokémon yelped in pain when the foot made contact, and whimpered afterward. Cloud opened his eyes and mouth in shock. These people were truly heartless. She reared to kick the bag for a third time.