Chapter Four: Taken

Still alarmed from the sudden gunfire from earlier, Jessie, James and Meowth still kept their eyes pealed to any sudden noise or movement following their every step. The day seemed to drag, and the heat of the sun warmed their skin (and fur). The path towards the other end of the Crescent Forest never seemed to end, and all the turns and cornors turned the once simple pathway into a labrynith of confusion. Still walking, though aimlessly, the trio suddenly came across the end of the path, which alas halted at the edge of a very steep cliff, towering the raging gorge below. The ruins of a wooden bridge dangle from the poles and ropes on each side. Their only way across has been destroyed....

Jessie collapsed onto her knees and banged the ground furiously with her fist, 'Argh, that's just great, the bridge is destroyed!' Her anger was clearly reconizable in the tone of her voice. Meowth lay down and slowly crawled towards the edge, glancing down to the bottom at the angry rapids below.

'Huh, well...' He hopped back up, glanced at James and the tempered Jessie, 'we're stuck 'ere.'

Abruptly, Jessie glowered at the feline, and suddenly smacked him across the face. 'WHAT DO YOU MEAN STUCK HERE?! I WANNA GET OUT!' She shook the Pokémon violently. It struggled to release itself from her tight grip. James stood beside, ignoring the argueing pair, and looked over... wondering.

'We could chop a tree down?' He suggested.

'WITH WHAT?' She yelled, still shaking the Pokémon.

'Or use our Pokémon?'

The pair stopped fighting and looked at James. 'Oh, yeah, 'coz Arbok will be able to reach the other side....' Jessie said, sarcastically.

'Victreebel's vines could reach across, right?' Meowth asked, helpfully.

'Possibly.'

'Well, go ahead, try it.' Jessie said, impatiently.

He began to fetch his pokéball from his belt, but there was a sudden disturbance coming from the shadowed wood behind him. He rapidly turned his head, to see nothing in the underwood.

'What's da matter, Jimmy?' Meowth asked. 'You hear something?'

James slowly nodded, 'Yeah...'

'Oh, no it's not them is it?' Jessie cried, alarmed with a sudden fear running through her body.

No one answered for a moment, til the silence was broken by James, 'It could be.'

'Then let's hurry!' Jessie yelled, trying to grab James' pokéball containing his Victreebel. James jumped out of the way. 'Hey, stop that.'

'Come on, James, we need to get the hell out of here!' She was overwhelmed with anxiety and panic.

'Yeah, Jim, Jess is right we do need to scram.' Meowth turned from the woods behind him and looked across the cliff to the other side, where another shadowed forest of dangers awaited them.

'James! Victreebel, now!' Jessie screamed. Her voice was shaking, as were her limbs. Her eyes raced and observed every cornor, anticipating a dreaded moment.

James' realization returned, and he nodded, 'Right, of course.'

Just as he was about to summon his Pokémon from it's ball, he was alerted by a high pitched shriek, that coming from a woman. He turned to the source of the piercing noise. Meowth yelped. Suddenly, something heavy and hard brutally came into contact with James' head, which thrusted him swiftly onto the rigid ground. And through his hazy vision, he glanced up.

There were men, armed, surrounding the trio. From what James could see, there were about five. Two were poiting their guns down at James, while the other three had hold of Jessie and Meowth, grasping them both violently.

'Leave them alone...' James feebly commanded, gasping from the sudden blow to his head.

'Take them back to the camp...' One of the men ordered. The others nodded and began to drag Jessie and Meowth away. The other two brutally grabbed James from under the arms and violently began to drag him across the rough ground.

He could feel himself being dragged; his knees shreaded by the sharp stones. Whimpers and yells were heard from his companions. He was dizzy; very lightheaded. The force of the weapon that plummeted at his head drowned him in darkness. He was helpless, as were they...

Sometime soon, along the forest path, James finally regained his conciousness, and he began to struggle free from the men's rough grasps. He could hear Jessie's screams not far away. All of a sudden, a force took him and he escaped their grips. The men became alert and aimmed their weapons at James. Without thinking, James suddenly began to sprint into the forest, avoiding the gunfire and their pursuit. The adrenaline overcame him that he was blind to what he was doing, and continued running... running... running...

After a quick getaway, James' energy abanndoned him and he fainted onto the ground...

Everything turned into darkness......