Pokemon Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ War of the World ❯ Fright ( Chapter 2 )

Title - War of the World

Chapter - Two

*****

Instances of him lunging forward and kicking the gun out of the Rocket's hands raced through his thoughts, all ending with him being shot before he could get to her. She remained stationary, far enough away from him to be safe. Pikachu could always electrocute her, but sparks would emanate from its cheeks, she would see it, and Ash would be shot. Not necessarily dead, never shot dead, but in extreme agony from having a bullet lodged somewhere in his gut.

"Who are you?" She demanded.

Ash registered the question, it just did not occur to him that he should answer it. He could not meet her eye, but not wanting to give the impression that he was ignoring her, his eyes fought to stare from her eyes to the mole at the corner of her mouth. The woman reiterated her question and this time he answered urgently, afraid of being shot for being uncooperative.

"Ash Ketchum," Be polite! "…M'am."

"Ash Ketchum? As in the Ash Ketchum who got Jessie Grandeur and James Bleuman fired?"

He hesitated, he had never known their last names, but how many Jessie and James duos could there be? "I guess so…" I didn't know I'd gotten them fired.

"At least you're not a Rocket." She holstered her gun. "Sorry about that. Can't be too careful, ya know? I'm Rianne Bryce."

The wide area of a stony declivity made Ash feel unsafe. There was only open space of the same bland gray and uneven ground ahead, offering no protection and nowhere to run to. Ash suddenly felt that he understood the theory of relativity.

Ash lowered his arms slowly, unsure of the action but tired of holding them up. Rianne smiled and he noticed how far her teeth stuck out, and just how yellow they were. It was repulsive, but he kept his face indifferent. Her outfit also reminded him of a stereotypical and particularly vile shade of vomit-green. Also, Ash noticed her relief that he was not a Rocket. Before he could think about what he said, the words were out of his mouth.

"You're a Rocket." He pointed it out, not accusingly, but almost impishly.

"I used to be. I infected from Team Rocket."

"Defected," corrected Ash.

"What?"

"It's defected, not infected." You're an idiot, Ash. She had to be in her thirties, at least. Her level of education, however, was less than impressive. You knew what she meant anyway. Absent-mindedly, he finally noticed that his arm was scraped and tender from his fall on the rocks and that his feet refused to remain still, so he tapped them impatiently.

"Oh, right." Rianne's cheeks suddenly felt very warm.

For some reason, Ash felt uncomfortable. Maybe it had just been too long since his company included something more than Pikachu. Or, perhaps the mood felt strained because Rianne, dressed in a Rocket's garb, had a gun pointed at his chest. That ordeal with Steelix was not exactly a Johto League championship win, either. Ash noticed, as Pikachu clung to Ash's pant leg that it, too, was disconcerted by the past few minutes.

"C'mon, you can stay with me. I've got a hole we can share."

He drew his brows closer together in confusion. "Excuse me?"

"My Steelix made a hole for cover tonight. It's big enough for two people."

Although the sun was still up, and it was low enough to be shining directly in front of him and into his eyes, he had no where to go. Not in the amount of daylight amounted to him. There was no guarantee that he was even traveling in the right direction to get to the Himarii Forest and, even if he was, it was doubtful that he would reach it before nightfall. Traveling at night was dangerous no matter where he was. But, Ash was not willing to accept the unexpected and readily given invitation offered to him.

"First your Pokemon attacks me, then you draw a point a gun at me, and you're wearing a Rocket uniform. I don't mean to be rude," Yes, Ash, you do mean to be rude. Why even bother trying to act nice? "but that doesn't exactly want to make me spend an evening with you in a… hole."

"That sounded really wrong," snickered Rianne.

'Annoying' was the only word he could think of to describe this woman. Ash looked at Rianne disdainfully. She had put a hand over her mouth to stifle her childish giggling over an even more childish reason.

"I'm out of here."

"And where you gonna go, huh?" asked Rianna, incredulously.

Ash walked by Rianne, holding his head high and pushing down his uneasiness as he went by the towering Steelix. It grumbled, but remained in place. Rianne made no move to prevent him from leaving, instead staring at him as if he had evolved into a second stage.

Perhaps not the wisest decision he had made, but he was captious. He realized as he already had his back to her that he was now a perfect target if she wanted to shoot him, but his stubbornness would not let him turn back around.

Behind him, feet shuffled to catch up to him and Rianne appeared at his side. Ash sneered, rankled at having this woman follow him.

"Do you have to follow me?" said Ash scornfully.

"Well you don't have a gun, do you?" she mocked.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"You might need one traveling this late. " Besides, she was not about to miss her opportunity to go with someone when she was on the 'Most Wanted' Team Rocket list.

Ash had been able to adapt quickly to showing Rianne the same kind of attitude he would give anyone else once she had put away her gun. Now, however, the feeling of wariness returned. He wanted to keep his on her so he slowed his pace, lagging back so that he could follow her rather then walk side by side. A bewildered glance from Rianne told him that she either meant him no harm or she was one great actor. Yet no matter how many times she would throw that look over her shoulder, he was going to stay behind her. They would continue like that until they ventured well into the nighttime hours. Everyone believed that evening travel was dangerous, but after his scares today it could not be as risky as was said.

*****

They should not have been there. A dark cloud hung overheard, not storm clouds, for those were a rare sight, but smoke. Thick smoke that engulfed the sky and made breathing difficult and hazardous. The silence created a dull ringing in the ears of the small group. What they saw before them was often heard on the news, but usually they had escaped this kind of disaster. This time, however, they found themselves gazing at the aftermath of a surreal situation. Buildings were demolished, reduced to a large pile of rubble; some buildings, half-broken but still holding on to their vertical standing, had small flames refusing to die on the rooftops.

Misty, horrorstruck and not knowing how to react to the sight in front of her, just stood there. Someone from behind nudged her, urging her forward.

"Do you think we should search for survivors?" whispered someone who did not want to unsettle the quiet.

Most of the group nodded glumly. Manner herded the group into two parties and pointed them in directions of the remains of what were probably some of the larger, office buildings that would have held the most people. Small bits of debris were still falling from the sky, small pebbles of cement and charred papers.

As Misty begrudgingly followed her designated group, she could not help but feel that their efforts would be in vain. No one could have survived this. She looked around, unsure of where to start. The city was destroyed like a pocket watch that had been smashed with a hammer. Misty just wanted this war to end.

She surveyed the rubble, hoping for some sign of life. The others seemed as lost as she was, but eventually Misty walked forward toward the crumbled building. Any other time the group would have been only too happy to argue over something irrelevant. Today, however, they were united in trying to clean up after the mess that the war left in its wake. Together, they pulled a large chunk of cement off the outside of the pile. Misty pushed a smaller piece of the building off with the help of another and instantly her hand went to her mouth. Bile rose up from her empty stomach and lodged itself in her throat; she turned away hastily. A hand had been crudely separated from its body, bones splintered and crushed.

"I don't think we're gonna find any survivors," said Misty distractedly, with a hushed tone.

"Just search," Manner commanded gently. He was the only one who would speak normally. Just hearing a voice so loud seemed inappropriate. Disrespectful. Misty crinkled her nose at Manner and resumed her task tentatively.

*****

Often times, Ash regretted his choice of actions. There were instances when he wished he had considered his options with serious thought rather than act impulsively. This was one of those times.

The sky lacked a moon and the stars provided little illumination. In fact, they seemed to enhance the shadows around him. It was a caliginous night, a wispy fog resting over the craggy terrain. Ash had his hands thrust into his pant pockets to keep them warm against his body, but his shirt was short-sleeved and the breeze was chilled. His skin prickled with a fresh air sweeping by him and his teeth chattered involuntarily. Pikachu waddled along beside him, its thin fur doing little to keep it warm. Had Ash not been so drowsy, he would have wrapped Pikachu up in a spare piece of clothing and carried it, but he had enough trouble stumbling over raised ground and stubbing his toes on firm, immovable rocks.

Rianne was still in front of him; he could see her shadow moving as clumsily as he was over the ground. His stomach growled loudly and Ash put a hand over it, staring at it regretfully for he had no food. There was more growling, however Ash did not feel his stomach churn. Rianne was probably hungry too.

"Ash? Was that you?"

"Was what me?" he asked irritably.

"Oh shit…" Rianne backed up, bumping into Ash.

"Hey, watch it!" Ash pulled away from her, but he paused when he saw the reason for her fear. He mimicked Rianne's choice of language.

A pack of Houndour raced towards them at a speed that was too quick for their liking. Both turned simultaneously and ran. Vicious snarls and snapping jaws approached rapidly. One hungry mouth just barely missed Ash's ankle. He knew he would not be able to outrun them straight forward, so he turned sharply and tried to throw of his pursuer. The Houndour was faster and leapt onto him, knocking him back onto the rocky ground. Ash screamed as pain shot through his spine and his head hit the ground with an unpleasant thud. Despite his pain, he put his arms up and fought to get the Houndour off of him.

It had him pinned down by the shoulders, tearing and ripping at the skin on his arms. Ash lifted his knees, but the Houndour was small enough to be spared a kick. Ash moved his head violently from one side to the other, avoiding the Houdour's bad breath and dripping saliva, while still attempting unsuccessfully to shove away the savage Pokemon. In his desperation, he never thought to call out for Pikachu until he felt the Houndour cease it's ferocious assault and remove its weight from Ash's body.

Pikachu clung valiantly to Houndour's neck, refusing to let go even when it was jerked and bucked. For a moment, sparks spurted from Pikachu's cheeks. A bright flash of lighting followed it, engulfing the two creatures, but harming only one of them. Houndour collapsed, convulsing wildly from the electricity forced into its body. Ash sat up, breathing heavily, and holding both arms up carefully. They were bloody and he could see, and feel, where large chunks of skin had been torn out. He couldn't see any bone, but fluids leaked out steadily and the air made his wounds sting. Pikachu brushed its head against Ash's leg affectionately, seeking praise and receiving none since Ash had difficulty moving his arms.

Up ahead, a menacing bellow that Ash recognized from earlier let loose. Whimpers were heard from the Houndour and Ash watched gratefully as they scampered back to where they had come from. Rianne returned a couple minutes later, blood and injury-free. She focused on him, peering through the darkness, until she finally rushed to his side.

"C'mon, up. You need to get to a hospital."

"Thanks for the observation, Doctor Bryce," Ash spat sarcastically.

Rianne stared at him, almost as if she were hurt by his words. But she quickly recovered from the shock of his harsh words.

"Balbuym should just be a day away from here… I think you can make it."

"My arms aren't torn out of socket, of course I'll make it."

"Excuse me for caring!" Rianne yanked Ash forward by the arm, his arm flaring with a torturous burning sensation. He stumbled before balancing himself and matching Rianne's quickened pace. Pikachu whined in complaint, but Ash could do little for it. The price he paid for provoking her.