Chapter Eleven

"Burgand!" Amari screamed into the forest as she and Magnar wandered back through the dense forest, with the only light coming from Magnar's orange glow on his back. Amari tried to see if she could make out any other shapes in the forest, and was able to see a faint glow that was approaching them quickly. Amari took a deep breath as she stood steadfast, awaiting whatever was coming their way.

"Brace yourself, Magnar," she said standing tall.

The lizard shape of Calron could finally be made out in the darkness and Amari let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness it's just you, Calron!" Amari exclaimed, running toward the now-visible Charizard and wrapped her arms around his long neck. "We're fine, we're fine," she reassured him.

She let go and took a step back. "Have you seen Burgand?"

Calron's eyes grew wide as he remembered abandoning him back in the forest. His concern was blown off by his indifference to him and let out a puff of smoke.

"No don't be like that, Calron," Amari chastised him. "He was a jerk, but-" Amari was cut off by a shrieking sound in the distance reminiscent of the Sneasel they had just encountered, followed by a bright flash of pale blue luminescence off in the distance.

Without a second thought, Amari rushed toward the sight of the light, Magnar hot on her heels and Calron not far behind. A Sneasel could be seen rushing past them as if it had encountered its own death. Once they reached the clearing, a large creature appeared who eclipsed the source of the light. The large shadow was in front of them and once Amari drew close, the creature seemed to vanish into thin air. What Amari saw caused a deep pit to form in her stomach and she lost all the breath in her lungs as she struggled for air. Amari approached the clearing only to see Burgand, lying face down on the ground, unconscious.

"B-Bur…" She tried to speak but she couldn't manage to find any kind of breath as she continued to gasp, heaving over and over as she fell to the ground beside Burgand's lifeless body. Virgil was by his side, letting out soft whimpers. Amari shakily reached her hand out to his back, now seemingly covered in gashes that were obscured by his clothes, which were covered by the crimson stain.

"He's breathing," Amari said as she tried to lift his body to no avail. She looked back at Calron who picked him up and carried him on his back as they finally made their way back to the campsite where the smoldering fire was awaiting them. Calron laid Burgand down on the ground as Amari scoured through her father's things for a first-aid kit. Virgil was wildly running around Burgand's body, occasionally letting out a rough bark followed by a whimper.

Amari knelt down beside Burgand, ripping his shirt to expose his back, which didn't seem as heavily scratched as his shirt made it appear. She washed him off with water, applied a bit of ointment, to which Burgand was heard slightly wincing.

"Burgand?" she asked with audible hope in her voice.

Burgand's head slowly turned around as his eye twitched at the medicine she was coating him with. "Where did you…?" Burgand closed his eyes again and laid his head back on the ground, sleeping.

Amari was shocked to see where she had applied the medicine, his scratches had almost vanished. She took a double-take and then started to read the bottle of ointment that she had applied. She picked up his shirt and took a look at the scratch marks on the back, which was almost non-existent, yet his back almost seemed unscathed.

"How in the world…?" Amari muttered, looking at Virgil, who was wagging his tail and licking Burgand's face.

Burgand stirred, and finally pushed himself up off the ground on his arms, still resting and reaching behind him to rub his wounds.

Th…that's it?" Burgand asked. "But I could feel it…digging into my skin. I haven't felt anything that painful before in my life."

"That's all I saw," Amari started to explain as she put away the first-aid kit back into her father's bag. She picked up his shirt, which was still covered in blood and showed it to him. "But this is what came off of you."

"That can't be," Burgand's eyes widened as he insisted. "There's no way I should be this fine. That Sneasel…"

"That Sneasel was gone by the time we got there," Amari interrupted. "I saw…something else."