Sorry for the wait. Least it was as long as last time. This is the first chapter to go through a beta reader. Though they only caught like three things, so...Well, I know there's more mistakes than that. With that out of the way, here's the next chapter!
Chapter 9
Exodus
April and I sat against the stone wall, not only completely depressed, but tired from all the stress the day had given us. My eyelids felt heavy, and I nearly dozed off multiple times.
After witnessing the dome crash in on itself, the fire that was about to consume the town had crept in on us quickly. The hill we were on was grassy, so we knew we had to find safety from the inferno. The only thing we thought of was to jump back into the Mud Caverns. That's what we ended up doing. The Luminous Orb had faded into a dull glow and now the moonlight shining through the hole was the only source of light.
"Heh, trapped again in this same cave..." I muttered.
"Don't even start." April looked just as tired as me.
"Sorry. Well, I suppose if we're gonna wait for the fire to burn itself out, we should get some rest. The cave is made of rock and mud; we'll be safe from the flames down here."
"A good idea, I guess. See you in the morning," April said. She laid down on a dry patch of loose dirt and I did the same. April didn't look very comfortable though.
"Uh, hey, if you want, I guess you could use my tail as pillow or something," I suggested weakly.
April gave me a sideways glance. "You know, Sparky, I just don't get you. You say you like me. Then you say that you don't want to like me. When I admit my feelings to you, what do you do? You tell me not bother. And now this? You just don't make any sense!" She was yelling at end.
I was silent for a moment. "It was just a friendly gesture. I'm sorry I even bothered." She could tell I was hurt. Her expression softened.
"Oh, Sparky, I'm sorry. I just...I was confused. And your like the first guy I've ever liked before, and then-"
"No, don't. Just...just try and get some sleep. We have a long day tomorrow."
"Sparky..."
"I said that I didn't want to talk about it. Good night." I curled up on my tail and buried my face into my tail.
April laid on the floor again. Before closing her eyes, she whispered, "...I'm sorry..."
...Me too... I thought before I fell asleep.
That night, I had the dream again. The surrounding landscape was much clearer now. I seemed to be sitting on a stone floor. Perhaps the roof of a tower? I couldn't tell. It was windy though. In front of me was an indescribable creature. It was speaking a powerful, all-knowing voice, but I couldn't quite make out the words.
"Yo... a...... the ......y t... t......s la...d's su......er.........g..."
The ground beneath me shook and crumbled and I fell into the darkness.
Then I was back in the cave. Awake now, I looked around. Sunlight was streaming in through the roof. April was still sleeping, though she seemed to be having a nightmare or something. I jostled her.
"Hey, April, you okay?"
"Hunh? What? Sparky? Is that you? Oh, sorry, I was having bad dream."
"Hm. What about?" I knew there was still tension from the previous night, but I wanted to see if I could avoid talking about it.
"Um...sorry, I can't remember." She looked at the hole in the ceiling. "Oh, hey, its light out. Looks like the fire is gone too."
"Yeah, I was about to say that. I guess we should go see, should we?"
"Oh, I hope the town is all right..." April motioned for me to hold onto her tail. I did, and together we blasted out of the cave.
The grass was all burnt up now. The forest was mostly flattened and the surrounding area was black for miles and miles. We laid eyes on Salvage Springs, or what was left of it, together.
"No! The town...my home! It's gone, its all gone!" April cried. Indeed, where the small town of Salvage Springs used to be now lies a blackened ruin. Some of the more metallic structures were somewhat intact, such as the Cafe and the gate into town, but nearly everything was just a pile of ash.
"This isn't good. Not good at all. I'm sorry, April."
"What happened to everyone? They didn't....you don't think they...?"
"April. They're fine. I'm sure they all escaped. Also, I'm sorry your town burned down and all, but we need to keep moving. We don't have much food and we should probably find where everyone went." I was speaking with much less emotion than would be expected. Last night had numbed most of my feelings, at least for a little while.
April sniffled and nodded. "Yeah, you're right. But where should we look? I don't know where Uxie would take everyone."
"Me neither. But," I started. I squinted at the far end of town. "I'd image they went that way." Near that side of the town there was a trail that wasn't covered in black ash. Once our minds were made up, we began to make our way to the path. The hill we were on was only about an hours walk from the town gate.
It was noon when we reached the remains of Salvage Springs. Walking through the place was very depressing. We didn't talk much, though April cried to herself occasionally. She would see an old hang-out or a friends house and cry a bit, muttering incoherently. I kept walking in an attempt to keep her moving as well. I felt bad for not feeling the way she does, but I only lived in the town for a few days. I didn't know it that well. April, on the other hand, grew up here.
The main street was blocked by some fallen, burned-out tree trunks, so we had to take a side street I had wanted to avoid. At the end of the street was April's house. Or what was left of it. The new mailbox that was out front was a pile of ash. Both beds were completely gone. The house itself was mostly flattened, as it was completely made out of wood. The small bubbling spring was black with ash and now made a slow gurgling noise. The place was sickening, and I truly felt the pain this time. April was in heavy tears and was collapsed on the ground.
"I worked...so hard on it...my, my dad helped me with it...it's-it's all I had left from him. And now...now its gone..." April muttered through her fit of sobbing.
What's that? It sounds her like her dad is gone. Something to ask about later, I guess. I put a paw on April's crying frame. She stopped her muttering for a moment and looked up at me. Her eyes were puffy from all the crying. She looked at the ground for a moment, gave a small nod, then managed to find the power to stand up again. With a paw on her shoulder, I pushed her along. She didn't offer much resistance, but I knew it was what kept her going all the same.
After making it out onto the main road again, I noticed that there weren't any other obstructions to hamper our progress. So I was thankful for that. We passed the Yamask Bank after a little ways. The place was actually fairly intact but the burned-out look and the piling ash everywhere made the place look even more creepy than it already was.
The Kangaskan Storage was completely flattened. I hoped they had already taken all the stuff when they evacuated. The Link Shop was equally burned up.
We didn't stop at the Cafe. I tugged April along and she didn't stop. She had been mostly looking at the ground that entire time so she may not of even noticed that we had passed her favorite place besides her house. Maybe she didn't want to notice.
At the edge of town, a question struck me. "Hey, April, do you know what's weird? The fire burned too quickly. There's ash and wasteland for miles, but its only been one night. How could the fire burn that quickly?"
She sniffled and cleared her throat. "I'm-I'm not sure....but rumor says that Moltres fire burns hotter and faster than any other fire in the world..."
"Hm. That must be it. Oh, and is there any other town nearby? Maybe one that everyone would escape to?"
"No, not really. The closest city is that way, I guess," she said softly then pointed in the direction that we were going. The unburned path led that way as well.
"Well, that's a good a way as any. Let's go. I hope we don't have to go that far."
I shouldn't have said that. I wish I could go back and time and slap myself. The trip was long. It was very, very long. The ash and black went on for miles and miles in front of us. April decided it would be much faster for her to fly and I ran on the unburned grass below her. I suppose that's one good thing about being a Pachirisu: I was fast as lightning. The electricity that coursed through me must of been stimulating my muscles in a way that boosted my running because I couldn't think of any other way to explain how fast I was going.
The exercise was good for us. It let us both focus on only one thing: moving forward. It pushed any thoughts of the burned out town, the fighting birds, the missing people, and the awkward things spoken the night before.
After many miles and quite a bit of time later, we stopped for a rest. We didn't talk. I took two apples out from my bag and we ate. After a short while, we went back to running or flying, respectively.
After dozens of more miles, we noticed something in the distance. It was greenery! Apparently the fire wore out after a while, and we were leaving the wasteland. Invigorated by the sight, we pushed ourselves harder to get the forest. Though once we got there, April lit up like a light, figuratively speaking. Just inside the edge of the forest was a large gathering of Pokemon. And not just any Pokemon. It was the entire population of Salvage Springs!
"Sparky! Sparky, Sparky! Look! Oh, thank Arceus!" April squealed, hopping about.
"Hm. How did everyone get this far out? That's what I'm wondering. Look how long it took us to get here, and we were going really fast." I was happy, sure, but it confused me.
"Well, they did it somehow. I'm just happy they're all alive!"
"Sure, sure. I suppose its a question best left unanswered anyhow. Well, let's go meet up with them." And so we slowly walked up to the group. Everyone was mostly talking amongst themselves and many were sad about the loss of their home. Spinda, who had been conversing with her three chefs, noticed us first.
"April? You're alive? Oh, that's wonderful!" Spinda made her way over to us in her characteristic swaying movements. "Happy day, happy day!"
"Spinda! Did everyone make it?" April asked after a quick hug with her friend.
"Yes, yes! After the Elder's shield broke, the only thing he could do was make a smaller one with some other Psychic Pokemon. He called everyone together and he contained us all. Then him and the rest of the Psychics moved the shield with us, protecting us from the fire. The Elder is a powerful Pokemon indeed."
"Well I'm glad everyone's fine. Um, where is the Elder? I don't see Uxie around." I asked, looking around.
"Oh, he's talking with the other town Elder."
"Other Elder? What other Elder?" I was confused.
"No, no, the Elder for our new town. We're all going to be living in Treasure City! Won't that be exciting?"
"Treasure City? I've always wanted to go there!" April exclaimed.
"Well, want no more. Look!" Spinda pointed in the distance ahead of us. There, between the trees, was a metallic gate.
"Oh my Arceus! Sparky, let's go! Nice seeing you Spinda!"
"Anytime. See you on the inside!" Spinda finished with a wave. We took off after that and ran straight to the metal gate. It was an impressive sight. The gate was dozens time taller than us. It wasn't really a fortified entrance or anything, rather, it was a greeting arch. It was improved version of the rusty old gate that stood in front of what used to Salvage Springs. A grouping of paw prints was displayed on the top piece.
"Welcome to Treasure City! Where bounty is-" April started to read.
"-Right around the corner..." I finished. April turned to me, surprised.
"Sparky? You could read that?"
"Um, yeah. What language is that written in?"
"PokePrint, like normal. Have you always been able to read that?"
"No. This...this is new...."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So you may think "Oh, Shane can read Pokemon now. Isn't that good? Why is he worried?" Its a good question actually. But he has a reason to be worried.
Anyways, another shorter chapter. I hope I can get back into writing longer chapters, I dont know whats with me lately.
Earlier in the chapter, Shane and April are at each other again. Shane's still unsure of himself and what he really wants, as he grapples between the morals of a forgotten life and the feelings of an alien body. And being a guy alone with a girl he likes, he's not exactly, well, comfortable. I'm a guy too, you know, I get it.
And yes, there are two time inconsistencies in this chapter. The first, the lightning-quick fire, was sort of explained. The second, the lightning-fast town people, will be explained some-what later. So. Yup.
