Chapter 20
Fear. He lurched forward, gripping the sheets spread in front of him. He was gone. There was nothing. Her cries of warning and anguish echoed around him. He gasped for breath but there never seemed to be enough. The world was crashing around him, suffocating him, engulfing him in flames.
All because, for once, he felt fine.
But he was not fine. Nothing was what it was supposed to be. He was dying, oh Arceus feeling good meant he would soon be destroyed. Her screams told him so. The image of a girl flashed before him, her sapphire eyes sparkling in the sun, those eyes he loved of the girl he loved. Of the girl who would die once he was gone.
No. No, no, no, no!
Out, out, he had to get away from here.
But what good would it do? He would only come right back and kill them all.
Die. He had to die. While he was gone, he had to die.
But not here, oh Arceus not here where they would stop him. Where they would cry and beg and persuade him to live so that when he died anyway they would perish.
Because they loved him.
Arceus he loved them.
Die. He had to die.
Her screams echoed in his head as he ran.
They tried to stop him. First Tok, who reached for him, cried for him. Then Yue, who tackled him to the ground. He kicked at her, scratched at her, tore at her hair—anything to keep her away from him, anything to keep her safe. Tok screamed as he tried to pull them apart, tried to hold him down so that he wouldn't run.
But he had to run, for their own good he had to get out.
He punched at Tok and kicked at Yue and once he felt their holds slacken, he twisted away from them and ran out the door. It hurt him to hurt them, he felt tears burn behind his eyes as they pursued him. Tok called to him, begged him to stop. Yue was silent, he knew she would not say a word as she focused on the chase.
He had no idea how to escape her.
The image of her trainer flashed before him and for a moment he thought about stopping. Letting Yue catch him.
Letting them all die.
No. Never.
He continued to run, he had no idea where. He was too numb to feel any obstacle; any bruise or scratch from the struggle with his friends. The friends who refused to let him protect them.
To let him go.
Tok's cries were like knives, each digging deeper into his heart. They were so anguished, so hurt, so fearful. The tears behind his eyes burned with such ferocity he almost believed they were on fire.
Die, he had to die. They couldn't die, he wouldn't let them, refused to let them die at his own soulless hands.
He turned on his heel, halting, holding his ground, not understanding his own actions while letting his arms and legs move to instinctive commands.
Yue cried out in shock as a wall of dark energy crashed into her, Tok was too stunned to make a sound as the force knocked him to the ground.
He loved them, oh Arceus he did.
He had to die. He had to.
Fear clawed at him from his numb heart.
He turned and ran.
And she continued to scream.