Sorry for the delay on this guys, 'College; College everywhere!'
I've already started Chapter 7, so that should be up a lot faster than this one.
Chapter 6: Really, Now?
"Come on, Hax... can I rest for a bit at least?" I mumbled, turning away from the dragon.
She tipped her head at me, before leaning against the hull of the plane; shutting her eyes as she did so. The engines whirred loudly outside, but my plated helmet blocked out most of the noise. Sighing deeply, my lungs in pain as I exhaled, I wondered how many we'd lost that day. Looking around my bay, I saw a lot less soldiers than when we arrived; I guessed that about a four squad equivalent was missing from my plane. I dread to think how many were gone from the other C-130's.
As the intercom crackled to life, I silently hoped that I hadn't broken a rib; that I'd just been injured badly in the sternum or something, causing me to bring up blood.
"We are nearing the outskirts of the Unova region now, men; we are approaching Undella Town." The pilot said, initiating cheers from the remnants of our forces.
"Captain... what's that coming up on radar?" a second voice said; the intercom still on.
"I... I don't know. Keep a lock on it Sergeant; they seem to be advancing pretty quickly."
By this point, my interest had been taken and I was listening intently to the conversation between the pilots.
"Two confirmed anomalies sir, and they seem to be distancing from each other. Should I attempt a radio link, sir?"
"Yes; just make sure you keep an eye on the radar."
Cocking my head at the events, I could hear a faint 'hiss' above the roar of our engines. I hadn't noticed that from a C-130 before...
"Comms are being denied Captain, and they seem to be moving into a formation."
"As long as they keep their distance, we should be fine."
Suddenly a ringing siren sounded throughout the craft, before frantic voices shouted over the intercom.
"They're breaking formation Captain; two missiles have locked on according to radar!"
"Deploy IR flares Sergeant!"
Glancing at the rest of the men, they realised as much as I did that... we were in the shit again. Haxorus looked at me hysterically, her eyes dilated as the noise sounded.
As the pilots shouted to each other, the C-130 began banking erratically, avoiding whatever was being fired at us. Trying to calm Haxorus down, I looked towards Nade who was unloading his weapon and storing it on his person, whilst the other men were doing the same.
There was an abrupt shock from outside, followed by the sound of crunching metal. Suddenly, the plane began to veer towards the right.
"We've been hit, I repeat, we have been hit! Soldiers, grab what you can and brace for impact!" the pilot shouted, as we began spiralling downwards.
Quickly calling Haxorus into her special Pokéball, I grabbed hold of the railing above me as I felt my weight begin to disappear; our downfall making us feel weightless as we headed for the ground.
As I kept my grip on the metal bar overhead, my legs now parallel to the floor, an explosion ripped through the rear door; wind sucking out everything that was inside the seating area as well as any man who didn't manage to keep his grip.
As the pilots attempted to straighten out the plane as best as they could, I felt my muscles aching as they resisted the urge to release their grip on the railing.
"Don't let go... whatever the fuck you do, don't fucking let go!" I shouted to myself, as the intercom was filled with feedback and shouting.
Unexpectedly, the craft levelled out somewhat, as the spiralling slowed down... that was when I saw the tops of trees. As we continued our descent towards the ground, I saw thousands of trees behind us, the tops all bend and snapped from the belly of our aircraft.
"BRACE FOR IMP—"
"Ugh... my... my fucking chest... my fucking head... my fucking... everything."
The moon was high in sky, not a cloud anywhere to be seen, and the stars were glimmering brightly against the black backdrop. A truly beautiful sight... if it wasn't for the scenery nearby.
Painfully opening my eyes, i was greeted with darkness. Wondering if I was dreaming, I soon realised that there was something on top of me, blocking my view. Gently pushing the object of my helmet, i found that it was relatively soft. Sitting up, looking at the item, I found it to be a body. A soldier to be specific. Standing up, I turned my attention to a bright orange glow not far away; the hue shining on the nearby trees as a loud crackling could be heard.
Stumbling over, I was met with the crumpled remains of our aircraft; the hull torn apart and alight, bodies scattered around the crash site.
"Jesus Christ..." I muttered, supporting myself on a tree.
Most of the bodies had their helmets off, making it easier to identify them.
Removing the dog-tags off the men I could get to, I heard a throaty cough in the distance. Swiftly lying prone, I watched the direction the noise came from. Through the heat haze from the blazing plane carcass, I watched a figure stumble out of the burning trees, supporting themself as best as they could, I noticed shimmering from what seemed like a visor. The flames reflecting convexly off a black, digital camouflage helmet, as the figure collapses onto the ground a few meters ahead.
Realising that they were obviously part of the platoon that crashed, and survived, I scrambled over to where they lay. Their gear and uniform appeared to be intact, bar some mud stains, and their breathing sounded fine. Gently rolling them over, I listened to their heartbeat. Steady.
Confident in their health, I checked the wreckage for more survivors but... it wasn't a pretty sight in there. The pilots weren't anywhere to be found, other than their headsets snapped on the console in front of their seats. Approaching the hole in the seating bay, I looked back towards the man that collapsed... he had disappeared.
"The hell?" I thought, looking around.
Checking my beltline, I felt all my Pokéballs in place, a feeling of relief flushing over me, and propped myself up against the hot metal wall.
Listening intently, I could hear the sounds of branched rustling and cracking above the noise of the roaring flames; seemed like we had more company. Ignoring the violent pain in my chest, I crept outside and lay on the ground, crawling towards the tree line in which I came from. That's when I saw something that still affects me, even today.
As I lay on the dirt, blending in with the flickering shadows, I saw what appeared to be a Druddigon. An especially angry looking Druddigon, at that. In its grasp I saw it had hold of a leg. Following the leg, I saw that it belonged to the soldier that collapsed not long ago.
The idea that it was possibly the soldier's Druddigon passed through my head multiple times, that maybe it was taking him to a more secluded, safer area, but I couldn't have been more wrong. As I watched the Pokémon lift him up by his leg, the man still unconscious, I wondered what it was doing; not once did it occur that it was probably wild. The Druddigon growled wildly at the human as his arms flopped limply in the air, before the creature took hold of one of his arms.
My breathing became slightly more erratic as I watched.
Grunting loudly, the Druddigon pulled on the soldier's arm and ripped it clean off, blood spattering the dirt beneath him, before tearing off one of his legs and dropping him onto the floor. Stifling the urge to vomit, I remained perfectly still as the man's body lay in a pool of deep crimson, the moonlight reflecting eerily off the puddle, as the Pokémon walked off further into the trees with the two severed limbs.
Swallowing hard, I looked around for a weapon, even if it wasn't my own. I'd need to protect myself if the native species were like that. I can't imagine what 'fun' a Hydreigon would have if it got a hold of me.
Finding a rather beat up, but intact, assault rifle I did an ammo check and advanced into the trees; the amount of bodies at the crash site not nearly enough to account for everyone.
Considering it too dangerous to have anyone out at the current time, I darted through the woods as best as I could, trying to get a bearing on where I was.
"The pilot said we were nearing the outskirts of Undella Town, so the nearest set of woods would put me near that place where Landorus would appear on the game or towards the Giant Chasm... what the fuck am I saying?" I thought to myself, as the noise of the fire got quieter and quieter behind me. Thinking back to the Druddigon I saw, perhaps we'd banked so much as to head back towards Dragonspiral Tower... but that was bloody miles away; no way could we have gotten that far so fast.
"I'm fucking lost..." I thought, sprinting over muddy twigs and branches.
"Nade...? NADE? Get your ass over here! We got another one here; gimme a hand!"
"Kid's beat up pretty bad, man; you think he'll make it?"
"He's part of the Kanto Division... he'll pull through."
"If I can make it to a route or road I should be alright." I thought, running towards a break in the trees, weapon bouncing around in my grip, "I wish it was safe enough to send out a Pokémon; be so much easier to get my bearings..." I panted, my helmet muffling the noise.
"Right; is that everyone? Has everyone got a working weapon and side arm?"
"Not me sir; lost my Colt and there's no spares anywhere."
"Right; you stick close to Curtis then. Anyone else? No? Then let's not hang around."
As I reached the end of the tree line, I stopped and leant against a tree, checking the woods behind me as I caught my breath. Scanning the pathway, the moonlight giving sufficient shade for cover, I stayed close to the edges of the route and brought my weapon to bear, keeping a constant eye on my surroundings before slipping away into the night. Perhaps the 'Giant Chasm' route would give me a well needed deterrent against enemies and Pokémon alike.
Several hours later...
The state of the deserted cavern was how I'd imagined it to be; dusty, dry and... devoid of anything that resembled the man-eating legendary. I'd set myself up in a cranny within the cave structure, to keep myself hidden from any equipment the enemy may have had. That, and Pokémon wouldn't come looking for prey here. Releasing Haxorus and Aggron from their Pokéballs, one stood guard whilst the other slept before swapping over. Funnily enough, every time it was Haxorus' turn to sleep, I'd feel her snuggle up to me; draping her cape over us to keep warm.
Even if I was half asleep; I still thought it was adorable.
Sleeping in the Giant Chasm wasn't easy; i... I couldn't stop dreaming about what happened in Castelia... to Aggro. From what I saw at the plane wreck, his team's Pokéballs weren't there; that played with my mind for a while. I just hoped that they'd dropped somewhere and they'd been let out somehow; that way they could get away from the area and at least try and survive like us. Just the fact that I promised him I'd look after them, then... that... ugh, it just... just... ugh, it just fucked with me so much.
After a few hours of rough sleep, we made tracks for the nearest town which, if I recall correctly, would be Lacunosa Town; humble, traditionalistic and welcoming... well... I couldn't be sure of a warm welcome when I was going to walk in with armour and a weapon but... you get the idea.
