The human family huddled together in the tall grass, hoping against hope they would not be discovered. Naked save from scraps torn from giant leaves, their wild hair and wilder eyes told of their desperate plight better than these words ever could.
There was a rustle of leaves, and the children shivered in fear, huddling close to their parents. They relaxed somewhat as their older brother ran out of the bushes, though his face was drawn and grave.
'We have to move on,' said the boy. 'The great electric mouse approaches.'
The father looked at his wife. She was still weak, struggling to recover from an ankle wound she had sustained the week before, the last time they'd had to run. She met his gaze, the fierce determination in her green eyes burning bright.
Then the ground began to shake, and they knew it was too late to run. The thuds fell louder and closer, and finally a shadow fell across the group, and the great beast towered over them, lightning illuminated it's dreadful countenance as it grinned and drew a prison orb from it's backpack.
'Leave my family alone, you bastard!' cried the father, attempting to shield them as the orb descended.
But all Pikachu heard as he prepared to capture his quarry was 'Carter, Carter. John Carter!'
John Carter cried out as the beast's paw roughly bundled him into the orb, snapping the jaws shut just as the man pulled his arm to safety. The last thing he saw before being plunged into darkness was the terrified faces of his family. He pounded on the inside of the orb, screamed to be released, and finally collapsed, exhausted. Would he ever see his family again?
To be continued...?