Pokemon is owned by Nintendo/Game Freak, Any YouTubers mentioned are their respected channels.
Rated T for some description of injuries, and possibly some language too.
I'm going to be pretty exact with locations, just from Google Maps. I don't own any companies.
Note: See Chapter 9 for Lizzy and Brian's stories once they got split off. Those will continue in Chapter 11. This will likely continue until I can re-tie their stories together.
POV: Emily
Time: Day 2, Hour 8
Having been split off from the rest of the group, Emily armed herself, sneaking up stairs on the other end. Her goal was to get to the top, and hopefully have jury-rigged a makeshift glider by that point. The elderly woman turned to the second floor, hiding in the dark as a figure was chased up the stairs by a creature. She took the opportunity to go in the opposite direction of the creature, opening up the room to her left, due to the fact that it had been propped open. Removing a bedsheet, she had found her glider's structure, or at least something to not have her hit the ground as hard from the top of the building. Noting noises from the outside, she closed the door.
"Hey!" A voice, feminine, said. "What are you doing in there!"
"Oh a survivor?" Emily replied. "Let me check the peephole, if I can get anything out of that..."
She couldn't see anything.
"How do I know you're somehow not a creature that can talk?" Emily asked.
"Well you'd be stuck if I was. Let me in." The voice replied.
Emily complied, the person seeming angered at the theft of the sheet.
"Calm down. I'm using it for my escape. You might be able to come, there's another one there." She said.
"Escape?" The person replied.
"Yeah. Gonna jury rig a glider, and get out of here." Emily responded.
"Well count me in." The voice replied, grabbing a sheet for herself, feeling around to do so. Emily looked as to make sure things were clear. They were, minus someone getting attacked on the very end of the hall, which hopefully wouldn't notice the duo.
"Let's go." Emily replied. "Make it snappy."
The duo bolted for the stairs, getting the attention of the creature, chasing after them. The duo managed to lose them though, by opening the door for the third floor on the way up, making the creature think they had ran down that hallway. They soon reached the fourth floor, and now had to find the roof escape. It was still very dark on this floor. Neither of them knew the hotel well enough to know where it was.
"Where is it..." The voice replied scared.
"Where would a roof access be..." Emily asked.
"Oh hello there!" A man with a thick Australian accent said. "You two looking for the roof?"
"Yes." Emily said. "I can jury rig a glider or two likely and I need to get up there to get enough distance to avoid the creatures."
"I'll let you up there, but you have to make one for me." The man replied. "Only fair."
"You got something to use?" Emily replied.
"I've got a tarp." The man replied.
"Fine." Emily replied, the man taking Emily's hand, spooking her, guiding the two females to the roof stairs, going up and opening the hatch. The two females stopped to adjust to being in light again. The other females looks were revealed, an Asian female with long, brown hair and a very thin figure, appearing to be barely an adult. The man seemed to be a well-built Australian male.
"I presume you two need glider structures?" The man asked.
"I was gonna use the cable thing." Emily said.
"Ah that, useful. I can get that set up for you. Just guard the roof access, you're armed." The man replied.
It took a few minutes to disassemble the rooftop metal structure, and another 30-35 to make glider structures, and a further 10 to string the sheets and tarp across, though they weren't very good. Emily was having a hard time keeping the roof access unoccupied at this point, scaring off enough creatures to run out of ammo.
"You about ready?" Emily asked, hearing her gun click.
"Yes. Just hope to God they work." The man said.
The female and Emily went to grab their respective gliders, as an angered Liepard appeared on the roof from the access stairway.
"Run!" The man shouted, getting a running start. Emily and the female went to go grab theirs, Emily offering to hold them back while the female glided away.
"I can't just leave you!" The female shouted.
"It's just one." Emily replied. "I can handle it."
"But..." The female replied.
"And we barely know each other." Emily said. "Don't get too attached to people. I've got a car out front, you can hide in that, and if I'm not back in 10, the keys are in it. Drive off. There's a town to the north. Get to the interstate and it'll be right before it."
The female, saddened by this, ran off herself. The man had already glided into the distance, the tarp making a significantly better glider structure than the sheet of the female's, functioning almost as a parachute rather than a glider. Still saved her from her fall, however.
This left Emily and the Liepard. The Liepard charged, Emily hitting it with the glider, it bounding off due to the tighter nature of this glider. Throwing her pistol to momentarily stun the Liepard, she ran off the side of the roof her vehicle was on, crashing into the awning, with mild injury, landing on the concrete below. The female, noticing her, got out, put her in the passenger seat, and drove off, not knowing that the slimes were now on their trail.
POV: Colin
Colin, having been separated from the expeditionary force, decided to merely sneak out the back, finding an employees only section to go in. He was spotted by the entering mob of slimes, which began pursuit. Eventually he was nearly cornered, dodging a swing from a canine-like creature and slipping into the employees only section. Someone tried to stop him, but was quickly overcome by the creatures. This would be the key to Colin's survival. He didn't have to outrun the slimes if they paused to infect enough people. The lights of the windows made it easier to see, but it also made it easier to be seen. Maneuvering the halls would be key to survival. While the slimes split up, Colin followed the separately batteried exit signs. The arrows were very useful for escape, but also guided slimes to escape as well. Noises were also heard outside, but Colin had more of a chance outside than he did inside. Taking the door out, managing to narrowly escape a face-clawing, Colin dashed out the door, noting a much more populated town, though this time with slimes. Colin decided to bolt it for the nearest major building in his present direction, which happened to be a manufactory. He was quickly blocked off by slimes, who instead went the other way, towards the town center. A loud noise was then heard, scaring off the slimes. It appeared to be a helicopter, which was quickly lowering in altitude. By the time Colin had gotten to the center of town, slimes began to surround him. Thinking it was the end, he thought to himself a bit about how it had all gone, and wondered if the others would be okay without him. Then, deus ex machina styled, the helicopter dropped it's ladder, the person in the bay yelling for Colin to go up. Colin grabbed onto the ladder, and the helicopter began to fly up, him slowly climbing up the ladder as slimes tried jumping up to get him. When he arrived in the helicopter bay, he encountered two soldiers, both Canadian.
"Saw you there." The elder male said. "Thought we'd rescue you."
The younger male, barely 18, nodded.
"Well thanks for rescuing me. I'm currently looking for my group." Colin replied.
"Well we don't have room for many. Maybe one more?" The younger one asked. The elder male nodded.
"Well I'm Corporal John Stevenson." The elder male replied. "And who might you be?"
"I'm Colin sir." Colin replied.
"Nice to meet you. Things are dicey down there." The Corporal replied.
Colin nodded. The younger male introduced themselves as Private Benjamin Harrad, though he said to call him Ben.
"Well can we go back to the settlement I came from?" Colin asked. "Or do you have specific destinations in mind?"
"Not really civilian." The Corporal replied. "Show us the way. Well the pilots of course"
"Thanks sir." Colin replied, going up to the cockpit. "Don't know if there's a super good place to land though."
"That'll be fine." The pilot replied. "I'm pretty good at tight spaces."
"Thank you." Colin replied, taking a seat in the copter as it flew towards Lost Hills.
POV: Team Grump Official(Arin, Dan, Liam, Pidove, Glameow, Emmy(Eevee), Heather(Audino), Wooper, Lisa)
Time: Day 1, Hour 19
Arin had just left the Food Mart, having recruited Lisa. They also decided to go down the Interstate, due to it having cleared out significantly.
"You know, we should start looking for a place to sleep." Dan noted. "By the time we find one, it'll be late."
"But if we sleep somewhere..." Arin said. "Non-friendly slimes may attack.."
"Well haven't they all been friendly to you so far?" Dan asked.
"Yeah... Me..." Arin said, noting Dan, Liam, and now Lisa's human status.
"Fair enough." Dan said. "But an all nighter isn't healthy."
"I know." Arin said. "Maybe we'll swap at the next stop."
"Or we could go to a still human hotel." Dan said.
"Where would one of those be though?
Dan seemed unsure, but sure one existed.
"Nice to see you're optimistic though." Arin replied, humming along to the classical music playing. It wasn't coming in as well as it did.
"When should we try and find a new station?" Dan asked.
"It's fine." Arin commented.
Dan seemed fine with that. Arin nodded in approval.
Heather asked how long they planned to drive as of now. Arin replied with the idea of stopping about an hour or two later, 8 or 9 PM. Heather seemed fine with that. Due to the near emptiness of the interstate, Arin could continue at a solid 55mph, below what the normal interstate speed limits would be, but a solid speed nonetheless. During the time, different radio stations began to come and go, due to the distance from the big city. Classical music turned to soft rock as the survivors' music played on. This was received much better by Emmy and Glameow, but Pidove seemed to be stroked the wrong way. Possibly a disliking, or a painful memory being triggered. But it was what came in, so she really couldn't complain. The first exit seemed to lead nowhere, and the second left to a memorial, which Arin and Dan decided to stop at. The monument was for a field hospital that was part of desert training during WWII. The field hospital also served troops during a short period of the Vietnam war. With the marker looked at, Arin continued down Interstate 10. The third exit brought them upon a bit of town, or what looked like it. Houses seemed to be distant, but they parked to check on the post office. They left a few dollars for a postcard, and took a letter marked for something down the road, clutched by a fresh corpse, which appeared to be killed during conflict of some sort. For legality's sake, they did not open the letter. Returning to I-10, before the fourth exit, they found a large power station, almost right next to the interstate. That exit lead literally nowhere, only country roads. Signs of people building makeshift shacks in the desert were there, but they declined to stop. Pidove began peering out the window, wondering what would happen to herself. After a bend on the road, a second useless exit, the fifth on their journey so far, came and went. The sixth had a rest stop, which Arin used to pee. Pidove asked for something crunchy, so Arin bought her a bag of chips, buying a soda for Emmy, and a Snickers for Dan. Glameow declined anything. Heather then got out on her own, but then Arin requested he buy whatever she had planned to get so other visitors could use the machine. An iced tea, still cold, was given to her. Wooper also got a candy bar, this time a Three Musketeers. After everyone had what they wanted, Glameow declining anything a second and third time, and Arin buying her a water anyways, they headed out. They decided against exploring the prison to the south. The next exit had a more significant town, the interstate blocked off at this point, forcing Arin to take the exit. Signs pointed to a camp in the town. Arin decided to go on to that location. One right and one left was all that was needed to get to the location's driveway. A man greeted him.
"Oh hello." Arin commented.
"Welcome to my place." The man who introduced himself as Alan said. "Come in, get yourself checked in, have a rest."
POV: Team Others(Barry, Ross, Sylv, Edward)
Time: Day 2, Hour 8
Barry and Edward, having left Ross and Sylv to park on the other end, walked into the Target. The Target was much less staffed, the dining area walled off with wood, a door installed. Edward pointed it out.
"Think those creatures are in the store bit?" Edward asked.
"Maybe." Barry commented.
The duo decided to check in the dining area, which contained the Starbucks and a small area for serving miscellaneous hot foods. The greeter greeted them, noting how bad things had gotten, asking if they could clear out the area, or at least get supplies from the grocery section. The duo seemed up to it. They were even offered a coffee as reward, maybe a bakery item for the little one instead. They went out, noting behavior patterns similar to that of possums or raccoons, that were rather skittish around the humans. Barry took that as a sign that things would go well. They went down the clothing areas, taking a cart and collecting specified size clothes for the ones trapped in there.
"How come they're trapped there? Can't they just leave if they're so skittish?" Edward asked.
"Maybe they're just really scared?" Barry asked. "We've seen not aggressive ones. Maybe they haven't?"
Edward shrugged, keeping walking, coming to the electronics and board games section. Edward grabbed a few board games to entertain the people there, even though that wasn't on the list. Ross shrugged, since cart space wasn't too much of a worry. The grocery section was the most populated area. The freezer section seemed less populated, besides a few ice-types that didn't mind eating the cold things. They grabbed a few frozen items, avoiding the Glaceon and the Froslass. They also grabbed the milk, eggs, and other fridge items against the wall. Cabinet-type items would have to wait however, as the cart was full and the slimes were there. They returned, noting that it was only one load. The group unpacked, thanking the duo for the list.
"We've got room for one more if anyone wants to leave." Barry noted.
There was murmur, people arguing about who should go.
"Woah, calm down." Barry noted. "Well how about this. Whoever wants to go, come for load two with us. If you make it out, you'll be considered."
Three adults seemed up for it. The first was a hispanic male, built large. The second was a barely 15 caucasian female. It was clear that she only wanted to get out of there. The third was a nerdy 17 year old hispanic boy. He seemed like he wanted to impress the female. The five departed, as Barry caught them up on goals.
"Well before we go. What're your names?" Barry asked.
"The name's Emmanuel sir." The smaller male said.
"My name is Juarez." The elder male said.
"Brittney." The female said, and that alone."
"Good to know." Barry noted. "Now let's get going."
"I'll lead." Juarez noted. "I'm the strongest and all."
"Yeah..." Edward replied. "But you'll be needed at the back to throw things. Don't want you getting transformed."
Juarez took the opportunity to stay back for increased likelihood of leaving.
Emmanuel decided to lead to impress Brittney. Brittney didn't seem to like him very much. They managed to get to the section they needed, populated by a Pachirisu and a Prinplup. They both noticed the quintet, taking defensive positions. Juarez, taking the advice of Edward, picked up a heavy object to toss and hopefully repel the slimes. Before he could do that, Emmanuel raced up, grabbing a baguette to use as a sword.
"You idiot!" Juarez yelled. "That's practically suicide!"
Brittney, finding the squirrel cute, also took an melee pattern. Barry took one, and put it back in the cart. The Pachirisu pounced on Brittney, she quickly regretted her melee, and Emmanuel, not knowing much about the slimes, tried to get it off of her. Barry recommended the remaining three take what was needed and leave. Brittney tossed a few things before her hand got covered, though they didn't pick up the last thing for that reason. Having grabbed most of the supplies from that aisle, Edward paused a moment to watch the horrified reactions to transformation, Juarez picking him up, as Barry grabbed the last of the foodstuffs needed, though he did have to trade one of his two spare baguettes in exchange for a box of cookies. Having returned, not noticing that the newly transformed Salazzle and Porygon-2, in to some a fate worse than death, were left non-feral, but the Salazzle unable to talk, and the Porygon2 too shy to. However, they could speak Pokemon language, so the Salazzle wasn't really mute. While Barry, Edward, and Juarez left for the other store, the duo recovered from the shock.
"Why did I do that..." Brittney said in her new language, covering her snout at the new noises. Emmanuel groaned. The Pachirisu hugged the new slime. It seemed to really be mute.
"Are you... even still there?" Brittney asked, still really scared.
"Calm down sweetie..." The Prinplup replied. "She's mute. She can't speak, even our language. She's still in there, but she can't let anyone know she is?"
"H-how can I understand you?" The Salazzle replied, scared.
"Well you're one of us now..." The Prinplup said, trying to appear as motherly as their specifically androgynous body would allow.
"Oh God..." The Salazzle replied. "I'm still 'in here' right?"
"Well you're not acting like an animal, so yes." The Prinplup replied. "Might get worse over time though."
"G-get worse?" The Salazzle replied.
"It's species-specific." The Prinplup replied. "You have pheromones, which might affect how your brain works."
The Salazzle whimpered, falling into the Prinplup's wings.
"It's okay..." The penguin-like creature replied. "You're safe with us..."
Meanwhile...
"I'm kinda sad..." Edward said. "They were so young..."
"Well honestly." Barry replied. "Juarez was always going to be more useful. His strength is a category we previously lacked. Juarez came back with an amount of supplies he had taken for himself, a few changes of clothes and food for a few days, along with a lighter and a dozen or so gel heat cans. Barry was in charge of taking the cart to Ross and Sylv and Juarez and Edward went into the next store, a T.J. Maxx/Homegoods store.
A/N: The story of Brittney and Emmanuel will be one of the side stories that I might write as a separate story, for side-stories, or the story of the shacks built that Arin and Dan passed by, or stories from things not referenced in the story yet, such as a Commander Holly arc.