Karyme: The Perfect Love
Chapter 26: Exordium
Author Notes: Yeah, yeah, throw your tomatoes and bananas at me now, I deserve it for taking ages to update again! Well I am back and I bring unto thee a new chapter! As some of you may have noticed, I changed my name to Houndude, just liked it a lot better! As you have all voted in my little question I had asked last chapter, the results are… a tie! Spooky, but it came out 6 to 6. So I will compromise. I will upload next chapter whenever I can, but the chapter after that will come exactly a week after (and I mean exactly, down to the very minute.) Also, I have a fun poll on my profile that I think you will all enjoy, so please take a look and vote! So I'm going to shorten this up and get on with it. *Insert disclaimer here* You know the drill, roll it!
Recap: Malak sends Emily and Reive after Alex, Alex and friends go to the training grounds, Kain rushes Orin to the Pokemon Center, Kain visits Orin and gets hypnotized by Persia, Alex breaks his knife (sad face) but keeps it, Alex and Karyme fend off Emily and Reive, Malak gathers his followers to attack Hearthome!
Opening up the fridge, I pulled out a can of Oran Berry Juice. I popped open the lid and sat down on Kurt's couch. The sun was just rising over the old city as I gazed out the open sliding door at the rear of Kurt's house. Looking at the rising sun and hearing the Pidgey and the Starly chirping was really relaxing. Everyone had left to go train, but Kurt had called earlier, requesting I wait for him. He said he wanted to talk to me about something important. So here I waited, sipping at the can of juice in my hand. I wonder what he wanted to talk about…
Kain
The sliding doors of the Pokemon Center opened with a ding as Kain walked in.
"Good Morning," Nurse Joy greeted him. "Your friend is awake this morning, but he is still in recovery at the moment. Would you like to see him?" Kain nodded yes. Nurse Joy led Kain down the familiar hallway, but entered a different room than yesterday. This one was more compact and only had a single bed in it, once again occupied by Orin. He was lying on the bed with his head on his paws. He looked just as solemn as yesterday. "Your friend is here to visit again," Nurse Joy said cheerily. She smiled warmly before walking away. Kain walked into the room, Orin picking his head up and watching Kain.
"You know, I admire that you came to visit two days in a row, first thing in the morning," Orin said.
"Well you know I really want to keep you as a friend. I feel horrible and I wanna make it up to you any way I can. I want you to be my friend Black Fang." Orin sighed.
"Look, don't call me Black Fang anymore." Kain looked up at Orin hopefully. "I haven't been exactly perfect either. I've been lying to you about my name, and my real name is… well it's Orin. And I'm that bastard's son… Malak, I'm his son." Orin looked at Kain to see his reaction to what he thought was new information. Kain's mouth was hanging open. Orin thought it was because of what he had just told him, but Kain was actually shocked that Orin had told him out of the blue, just like that. Kain struggled for something to say. He couldn't tell Orin he already knew. It'd make him feel bad if he knew that Kain found out from his older brother.
"So why did you change your name then?" Kain finally asked.
"Well mostly because my father gave it to me and you know exactly what kind of guy he is. See, the story is that, when I was born, Raleigh was my older brother and unfortunately still is. I was there when my father murdered my mom. I saw it! Right in front of me! I know what he really did and I had to keep my mouth shut or it would have been my neck next. He tells everyone though that I was the reason she died. That she died giving birth to my egg. It's all a lie! I never knew why my father and Raleigh were so horrible to me, but I think it has something to do with the fact that I'm not a vicious, bloodthirsty killer like they are. They took it in turns attacking me and every week I had a new scar to show for it… They wanted me to be like them, but in the back of my mind, something told me it just wasn't right. So I had no choice but to disobey them and take their punishments. But then there was one day when he gave me one last chance to prove myself "useful" to him. He told me it'd be my life should I refuse or fail. He told me to go and kill one of his men's pups to send him a message. That was when I knew I had to get out of there. So I set out, looking like I was following his orders and when I was far enough, I took off. I never ran so fast, for so long, in my entire life. I ran and ran until my legs screamed and broke down and only then was when I felt safe." Orin looked out the window, his mind distant and far away. Kain could tell he was really lifting a lot of weight off of his shoulders. "The reason I changed my name was because it was the only tie to him and Raleigh after my mom died. Even though she had given me the name, I still had to change it just so I wouldn't feel any connection to them anymore." Orin closed his eyes and shook his head back and forth slightly. "But you know, I realized a little while ago that I am who I am and I can't change that. My name is Orin, not Black Fang and I'm going to live with that. I realized I can't run anymore, I have to fight and stand up to them." Kain was secretly relieved to be calling him by his real name instead of getting confused with two different names. But there was still one thing Kain didn't understand.
"So why didn't you tell me this all before when we first became friends? Kain asked.
"Isn't that obvious though? I didn't want to lose the friend I had just made because of who my father is. I thought you'd be scared for your life of what I'd do to you if you knew."
"Well I'm not running now, so you know what I think of that," Kain said smiling. "I know you're not going to kill me or something, you're my best friend."
"I know Kain and I-", Orin was cut off by a large explosion and everything in the Pokemon Center rattling. Everything was quiet for a moment until Orin spoke. "What the hell was-", another explosion went off this time louder and causing a few potted plants on the shelves to crash to the floor. It was quiet again as the fragments of the pottery skated across the tile. Kain thought he knew what was going on.
"Shit," Kain whispered. A second later, the loudest and largest explosion rocked the Pokemon Center. The lights went out and Orin's bed lurched forward. Out in the hallway, Orin and Kain could see debris blow by the door with great force. Kain and Orin hurtled out into the hallway to see what had caused the massive explosion. They found half of the Center ripped apart and nearly the entire roof of the lobby blasted away. Out of the gaping hole in the roof, the two of them could see Pokemon soaring high above the city. They were using their attacks, aiming at the buildings and people on the ground. A scream rang out through the Center. Orin and Kain looked down the long hallway that was torn asunder and littered with debris. They saw a Shiftry walk across the hall, dragging Nurse Joy by her collar. She struggled and kicked, screaming as she got dragged into another room. Kain looked at Orin.
"We should help her," Orin said.
"Yeah, let's do it," Kain replied. Orin took off down the hall, with Kain behind him. They slowed as another mini-earthquake shook the Pokemon Center. Orin halted and turned around to face Kain.
"So do we have a plan here?" Orin asked. Kain shrugged his shoulders.
"Just thought we'd do the best we can to hel-" Kain stopped, seeing a large metal beam, loosened by the shaking ground, falling behind Orin. Orin couldn't see it with his back turned. It was going to crush him! Kain leapt at Orin and shoved him out of harm's way. Kain leapt out of the way as well just as the beam smashed the tile floor to pieces. Through the small cloud of smoke, Orin looked over at Kain. He gave Kain a curt nod before taking off down the hall again to help Nurse Joy…
Alex
I heard some small explosions from where I was sitting. I stood up and hurried to the window to see what was going on. I saw some flying Pokemon and dragon Pokemon soaring high above the city, shooting their elemental attacks at the ground below them. Some Pidgeot and Staraptor were dropping exploding Electrode and Voltorb on the buildings and people below. Ah shit, not another attack and this soon too! The lock on the front door clicked and the front door swung open. Kurt hurried inside and shut the door quickly, locking it behind him.
"Kurt, what's going on? Is it another attack?" I asked. Kurt looked at me very seriously.
"Yeah, I think so," he said gravely. He looked out the window real quick before looking at me again. "Look, no time to explain. But basically, I got a squad of eight men. One of my men, Roger, great guy, anyway he was… K.I.A. in the last attack. So I'm one man short. I keep six men with me at all times, no matter what and I usually send the other two of my men to the front gate wall during an attack, both of them being expert marksmen. They help out the other guards in case they try a frontal assault. Now Roger was one of these marksmen." He nodded at me and I understood what he was asking.
"You need me to fill Roger's place?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yes, but don't worry. If this was a seriously life-threatening task, I wouldn't put you on for it. There just really is no one else I can contact at the moment so it's up to you." He clapped me on the shoulder and led me to the door. We walked outside to see seven men in total. Kurt led me over to a group of six. They were wearing heavy armor colored black. The same attire that the squad of men that escorted us into Hearthome City had. I couldn't see any of their facial features as we walked up to them, because of the full-head helmets. Only their eyes could be seen through their visors. Kurt grabbed his gear and began to put it on. As he was pulling his torso armor on, he addressed me.
"John told me you weren't a complete dunce at shooting. Even if you got anything to shoot at, it should only be twenty to sixty yards from atop that guard tower." I breathed a mental sigh of relief. I hit the target at the range at one hundred yards away. Yeah, but the target was four feet wide and I missed the center by a foot and a half, not to mention I took ten whole seconds to line up my shot, I forgot to turn the safety off and I didn't even cock it. Kurt had all of his gear on and threw his rifle's strap over his shoulder.
"Derek!" Kurt called out to the seventh man, standing by himself. He looked up at us as we approached. He was the only one that wasn't heavily laden with black armor. He wore a brown heavy-duty shirt, with half sleeves and numerous pockets on the front. He wore cargo pants with black combat boots. He had a very blank and bland expression written on his face. "Derek, this is Alex. He's gonna be your second today." His eyes locked with mine, being almost equal in height.
"Hey," I said, extending my hand.
"How yuh doin'," he replied, shaking my outstretched hand. He suddenly turned his head and coughed really hard, spitting on the ground next to him. A large explosion went off in the city behind us. Kurt spun around to see the damage.
"We better move," he said, readying his rifle and taking off with his squad. "You two get moving too!" He yelled over his shoulder at us. Derek held out a rifle for me to take.
"Here, this one is a semi-automatic carbine." I took the weapon into my hands and looked it over. He tapped the scope with his index finger. "Four times optical scope. Perfect for targets twenty to eighty yards away." He pointed at the stock. "Cushioned, reduces recoil." He picked up a vest and handed it to me. "Put that on. On your right you got a red dot sight. You also got spare clips, already ammo'ed up. Spare rounds are in the pouches on your left. If you run out of clips, you have to put the ammo back in the clips yourself. Load up the rifle so I know you know how to get it." I opened up one of the pouches and pulled out a clip. I shoved it into the gun and pushed the bolt forward, loading it. "Good, you'll be fine. You got five round clips and it'll go fast, I can promise that." He pointed at the trigger. "Safety's above the trigger, keep that off, we're in an orange zone." I nodded.
"All right, I think I've got it."
"Great, let's move then." Taking off, we ran down side streets and through narrow alleyways. We headed down the sloping streets towards the front of the city. We weren't too far from the front of the city already and Hearthome City wasn't exactly a metropolis. From a quick judgment, I guessed we were only a kilometer or two away from the front city's walls.
We turned down another smaller side street, nearing the enormous wall. We walked down the sidewalk. Derek walked with a quick pace, his rifle slung over his shoulder. I was at the ready, with my gun held in both of my hands. We were about halfway down the street when a door from one of the rundown shops flew open and out ran a female Nidoran. She made it out into the street before an Arbok pounced and struck her from behind. Its teeth sunk into her neck, stopping her from going any further. Derek and I ducked behind a parked minivan before the Arbok saw us. Surprisingly enough, Derek's gun was still slung over his shoulder. I crouched down on one knee next to Derek who was squatting. I listened to try and hear what was going on. All I could pick up was a choking sound. Derek peeked around the corner of the car at the scene going on in front of us. He snorted and pulled his head back behind the van.
"These sick mother fuckers, I'm telling yuh," he said with a crooked smile on his face. He nodded at an alleyway across the street from where we were hiding. "Think we can make it to that alley?"
"Yeah, let's do it." Derek peeked out again and bolted across the street. I ran after him, trying to keep my shoes quiet. It was a failed attempt as all of the loose ammunition in my pockets jingled around. I glanced over at the large snake as it heard me. It picked up its head and hissed, spitting poison and blood in my direction. Derek and I continued running until we were sure the Arbok wasn't chasing us. We slowed and stopped to catch our breath. I was keeled over panting while Derek seemed to be looking around at the buildings. He frowned and looked down at me.
"That Arbok threw us off course," Derek stated. "The perimeter wall is real close, just over these buildings." I noticed how he said 'over' the buildings. "Come on, let's go. Yell if you need me to wait so you can catch up." Derek leapt up on top of a parked car and pulled himself up onto a low roof. He motioned for me to follow. I did the same as he did, climbing up ledges, ladders and anything else we could find. We climbed high until we stood atop an apartment complex. The barrier wall was built right next to the building, connecting the two. An iron gate barricaded the small doorway that accessed the top of the wall. I thought we had hit a dead end until Derek pulled a key out of one of his pockets and unlocked the padlock and chain. We stepped onto the concrete wall, Derek shutting the gate and locking it behind us. He motioned for me to follow him and we started walking down the large concrete formation. We walked past men hurrying in the opposite direction. The attacks from the flying Pokemon were still going on. A fire team was lined up against the railing, facing inwards to the city. They had their sniper rifles trained on the Pokemon soaring high above, trying to shoot them out of the sky. As we passed them, a high ranking officer shouted at the men.
"Keep dealing your fire on those bastards!"
We eventually came upon a doorway to a tower that stood over the entrance to Hearthome City. Derek rapped sharply on the door three times. We heard footsteps thundering down the stairs and then a voice called out to us through the heavy wooden door.
"What's the phrase?"
"May the wind and water flow freely throughout Hearthome and this land," Derek stated loudly. There was a series of small clicks and the door was swung open, granting us access. We climbed the stairs to the top until we came out onto a small balcony. It overlooked the road leading out of Hearthome City. I was down there only a couple days ago… Derek and I walked to the chest-high wall on the edge of the tower, which was made out of solid concrete. It was perfectly formed to use as cover. Derek pulled his rifle from his back and aimed it over the wall, looking through the scope. He scanned over the area, adjusting the knobs on his scope occasionally. After about a minute, he leaned his rifle up against the wall and sat down, also leaning up against the wall with his back to it.
"We're good for now, there's no movement," Derek said, pulling a cigarette out from his pocket and lighting it up. I sat back against the wall next to him. Derek exhaled a long breath, cigarette smoke billowing from his nostrils. "So you here with others I guess?"
"Yeah, my mate, my son and my friends. They're out there in the park." A small trace of worry lingered off of my words. Derek nodded slowly, taking a long hit off of his cigarette.
"They'll be fine. Never seen a tougher guy than John." Derek exhaled his smoke again. "Well except for Kurt maybe. All I'm glad for is that we have a guy with his head on straight running the show here." He stuck his cigarette in his mouth and started adjusting the clasp on a holster that was stuck to his side. "So you aren't from around here eh?"
"No, I came from that southern region, Leynoh." Derek raised his eyebrows and looked at me.
"No shit, huh? Wow, yeah, you're from out there all right. I was born and raised right here in Hearthome City. This is my hometown, my turf and I'm gonna defend it to my last breath." Derek turned his head to look at me. "So that means I'll kick your ass if you're horrible at shooting," Derek laughed and punched me playfully on the shoulder. I chuckled along with him.
"So how about you then? Who're you fighting here for? Is there some special girl waiting for you?"
"Mmhmm," Derek replied, nodding his head. "Very special girl." He reached inside his shirt and pulled out a small photo. It was a picture of a very beautiful woman standing by the ocean. Her feet were in the wet sand, facing out towards the open water. She wore a long flowing white dress that looked absolutely stunning on her. Her head was turned around, smiling at the camera with her pearly white teeth. Her long brown hair shone in the sunlight, silky and smooth, snaking down her back. But the thing that really caught my eye was the bump on her belly and her hand holding it.
"She's very beautiful," I said, handing the photo back to him.
"Gorgeous, man." Derek slipped it back inside his shirt, in the front pocket. "She headed back to Sandgem Town right before the Pokemon took over, to visit her mother. That's where the attack hit first." Derek took another hit off of his cigarette before flicking the butt over the railing. "But she's okay, I just know it. She's a smart girl." We were interrupted by a guy barreling through the door.
"They're forming out on the tree line!" he said, loading up his own rifle. Derek and I scrambled to our feet as another man ran through the door and into the tower. Derek was already against the railing, looking through his scope. The second man and myself formed up on the railing next to each other.
"Damn, there isn't many. This is almost a joke," the man next to me said, a small chuckle hidden in his statement.
"I wouldn't be so sure, there's always more than meets the eye in these kinds of situations." Just as Derek finished speaking, a loud microphone crackled to life from the adjacent guard tower.
"This is guarded territory and you are trespassing! Turn around now or you will be fired upon! I repeat, you will be-" the man was cut off as a large Blastoise fired a powerful Hydro Cannon attack, hitting the other tower. A gunshot rang out as a bullet pierced the Blastoise's forehead, knocking it over backwards. A loud roar rose over the Pokemon around the tree line. They started advancing slowly, more Pokemon appearing behind them. Shit, there could be hundreds more hidden in the trees! The large group of Pokemon started charging for us.
"Open fire!" Derek yelled. The crackle of gunfire echoed over the loud roars of the Pokemon. I looked through my sight and targeted a charging Glameow. I took a breath and pulled the trigger. The stock kicked against my shoulder as the rifle fired. The bullet soared right past it, hitting the ground behind it. I cursed and tried to find another target, eventually locking onto a Flareon. I pulled the trigger again and felt the kick of the rifle against my shoulder. The bullet hit the dirt right at the Flareon's feet, making it jump. It danced around my bullet and kept charging. I didn't lose sight of it though. I lined up my shot again and fired. This time I hit it in its flank. I watched as it tripped and fell to the ground. I hit it? I really hit something! My thoughts came back to the moment as I heard two loud bangs and then a splintering noise from the stairwell. Footfalls thundered up the stairs as something climbed them. Those were too heavy to be human feet. Derek broke away from the railing and turned around just as a Primeape appeared, coming up the stairs. He ran over to meet it and swung his rifle hard. The Primeape threw up its fists a second too late as the butt of the rifle collided with the side of its head. The Primeape toppled over and Derek jumped on top of it, pointing the barrel of his rifle on its forehead. He fired and killed it just as a Machoke appeared on the top of the stairs. I was the first thing he saw and he growled, lunging towards me. I quickly raised my rifle and fired without hesitation. The shot punctured his chest, making him stagger but not stop. Derek pulled a knife from his boot and tackled the Machoke before it could collapse onto me. He stabbed it through the throat, ending its life after suffering another fatal wound. I was breathing hard after the sudden attack. Derek pulled his knife from the Machoke's throat and grabbed his rifle off of the ground.
"Come on, let's get back to it," he said, clapping me on the shoulder. I tried to keep shooting and steady my aim, but I missed a lot of my targets, only killing an Electrike and a Lairon. The Pokemon eventually gathered some grass and poison Pokemon to shoot back at us with Pin Missile, Poison Sting, Bullet Seed and Razor Leaf attacks. I could hear the whizzing sounds of the projectiles as they shot past and the "tinging" sound of them bouncing off of the walls. I continued firing, reloading when needed, trying to take out the grass and poison type Pokemon firing at us. I had to take quick shots before taking cover again from the strong attacks. A carefully placed shot would most likely be lethal. I popped up and quickly looked through my scope. I spotted a Cacturn, firing its deadly Pin Missile attack at us. I aimed and pulled the trigger, hitting its upper torso and causing it to fall over. I ducked back down again, ejecting my empty clip and pushing a fresh clip into my rifle. I pushed the bolt forward, loading a bullet into the chamber. I swung my rifle up onto the wall and peeked down the sights again. The first thing that I saw was a rather large and mean looking Tyranitar glaring right at us. A small white ball of light was glowing in front of its mouth, growing larger. My heart jolted when I realized what it was.
"Umm, Derek?" I asked. "We have a problem here."
"Ah shit," Derek said. "Everyone get down now!" The four of us ducked and hit the deck just as a dazzling white light and a sound like an explosion cut through the air above us, right where all of us were just a second ago. I looked up from the ground as the white light faded and saw that the roof of the tower we were in was ripped to pieces. Only a couple of rafters and braces were left standing, along with a small section of the actual roof. Everyone else stood back up and formed again on the railing and began to deal fire back. I watched with blurred vision and a loud ringing in my ears. "Come on Alex, get up!" Derek yelled through the haze. The grass and poison Pokemon were doubling their attacks. Their projectiles were ricocheting off of the walls and railing now. I watched the man that stood next to me this whole time as he stumbled backwards and fell flat on his back. I looked over at him and saw a large Pin Missile needle sticking out of his forehead. Blood was oozing out of his head, trickling down his face and into his hair. His body was still, as he was dead before even hitting the ground. His mouth was left gaping and his eyes were still open, staring blankly at the ceiling. Shit. I tore my eyes away and started crawling back towards my rifle. It was lying about ten feet away after being blown out of my hands from the Hyper Beam attack that hit the tower. A loud crash stopped me as wood splinters and chunks fell down on top of me. I ducked my head down and threw my hands over the back of my neck and head. A large Dragonite had crashed into what remained of the roof, completely tearing it off and taking most of the walls with it. Shit! I kept crawling until I grabbed my rifle and pulled it up to my chest. I spun around and sat with my back against the railing, holding my gun close to my chest. This isn't what I signed up for. I'm not made for a fight this big! A blast of warmth and a bright light clouded my senses. I gasped as I realized that a jet of intense flames had completely engulfed the man next to Derek. I could hear his agonizing screams through the roar of the flames. He stumbled backwards, flailing his arms in an attempt to put out the scorching fire surrounding his body. He kept moving backwards until his feet hit the edge of the tower. The walls, which had been completely been demolished by the Dragonite, left nothing to catch the man as he tripped over the side and fell. I couldn't believe what I was seeing as I watched the man disappear from view.
"Come on Alex!" Derek shouted. "Don't think about it!" I tried to pick myself up and help Derek but I just couldn't. Fear held me glued to that wall. I knew if I stuck my head up, I would surely get hit. What the hell? Kurt said this wouldn't be dangerous! I heard three dull thuds and Derek grunting loudly, causing me to look up. He looked down at his chest where we both saw three large needles from a Pin Missile attack sticking into his chest.
"…Fuck," Derek whispered, dropping his rifle. He fell to his knees, clutching his side and staring at the needles.
"What should we do?" I asked, gawking at his wound. Derek shook his head.
"We've lost this one. We need to fall back and regroup with everyone else."
"No, I meant what should we do about…," I gestured at his chest to finish my sentence. Derek looked down at his chest and sighed, shaking his head again. A loud screech rang out through the air. We both turned around and saw a Flygon barreling towards us. Before it collided into us, Derek and I dodged out of the way. I stood up and unsheathed my new knife. Derek stood up as well behind the Flygon. He grabbed the needles in his chest and broke the ends off, emitting a loud grunt in the process. He tore his shirt from his chest, leaving only his white undershirt, soaked through with blood on the front of it. He pulled his knife from his boot and looked at me.
"Get out of here Alex," he said. The Flygon roared at me, spreading its wings wide. Before it could make a move, Derek climbed up its back, reaching over its shoulder with his knife and sunk it into its large red eye. It screeched loudly, rearing back fiercely. It flailed its tail and wings, trying to shake Derek from its back. I wanted to help Derek, but I couldn't get close without getting hit. I had to dodge out of the way as its tail came swishing around to meet me. The Flygon stumbled and swayed, getting close to the edge of the tower. No, they were going to fall over the edge!
"Derek, look out!" I yelled, warning Derek of the danger. Derek reached around the Flygon's neck and pulled hard. He was pulling in the direction of the edge… The Flygon careened over the side with Derek still latched onto its back. I gaped as I watched the two of them disappear over the edge. I stared at the place I last saw them for some time as I waited for the truth to sink in. My hand became limp, the handle of the knife slipping from my fingers. My knife clattered to the ground. I wasn't ready for this. This wasn't a fight. It was war. Death surrounded war like a blackened shadow, waiting to pick war's victims off one at a time. I could handle death, but war meant losing your friends, innocents too… Damn it… I have to go, I can't stay here much longer. I bent down to retrieve my knife. I saw Derek's discarded shirt lying on the ground. I ignored it and reached for the handle of my knife. Something caught my eye though, stopping me. The corner of a white piece of paper was sticking out of the rubble. I pulled the piece of paper from the rubble to examine it. It was a small square of thick paper, bearing a large hole in the center of it. It simply said "Michelle," with a drawn heart after her name. I flipped it over and saw it was a photo. It was a picture of a woman standing on a beach in a white dress. She had her hand laying over a bump on her stomach. Only half of her face could be seen because the hole in the photo ripped through, tearing away half of her. I recognize this picture though. It was the one Derek had shown me. The one Derek kept in his pocket. The hole was obviously from the Pin Missile attack, piercing through where the photo was a sticking into his chest. An explosion went off to my left, rocking my senses. I snapped back into the reality of where I was and what was going on at the moment. The picture fell from my hand as I grabbed my knife. Another explosion rocked the ramshackle tower as I tore down the stairs at an incredible speed. I had to get back to the park and meet up with everyone else… If they were still there... The photo of the girl lay on top of the rubble, torn and tattered, while next to it laid the shirt of its owner, never to be worn again…
I hurried up the final street as the park came into view. I climbed over a pile of rubble from a nearby destroyed building, my feet slipping and sliding over the bits of brick and concrete. As I walked onto the smooth grass, I saw hundreds of people gathered around a cluster of tents. Stretchers and cots were lined up in rows with injured humans and Pokemon. Nurse Joy, a handful of Chansey and medics were tending to the injured. As I proceeded through the makeshift hospital in search of Karyme and my friends, I couldn't help but look around at the patients. Many of them were soldiers, wounded from fighting off attackers. I could also see many Pokemon sporting various injuries, but they seemed to be doing much better than the humans were. There were other victims too. Everyday people, refugees who had fled here because it was safe, or so they thought. I passed by a mother kneeling next to a stretcher holding her boy's small hand in hers. I could see bandages around his knee, the rest of his leg farther down, missing. The mother kissed her son's hand, tears leaking from her eyes.
"Mommy?" Am I going to die?" The small boy asked. His mother sobbed.
"No, mommy's here sweetie, everything is going to be fine dear. My head turned to a small cot as a man yelled "No!"
"You're not going to do that to my arm!" he yelled. A medic stood over him with a scalpel and a small saw in her left hand, hanging at her side. She tried her best to hold the soldier down with her other arm to calm him.
"I'm sorry, but we have to stop the poison from spreading, it's too late for an Antidote to cure it." I looked at the soldier's arm and saw two large bite marks on his forearm. His skin was a dark green color around the bite.
"No! There has to be a different way!" Another medic came to help hold him down.
"Jen, we're going to need some anesthetics over here!"
"Alex!" A voice called out my name. I looked in the direction of the voice and saw Karyme running towards me. She ran into my outstretched arms and I embraced her. We broke apart and she gazed into my eyes. "I was worried, I thought you'd been hurt."
"I'm okay," I said, smiling at her. "Where's everyone else?"
"They're over here. Come on, I'll show you." Karyme trotted off in the direction she came from, with me following her.
"Are the others okay too?"
"Everyone is fine," Karyme said. "But Drake uh, well he…" I could hear Karyme's hesitation and read it on her face, as well as sadness, as she turned her head around to look at me while we were walking. "…He's not… doing so well at the moment. He's in pretty bad shape." I opened my mouth to inquire what was wrong with him, but closed it as we rounded the corner. Everyone was gathered around a large cot. Ryo was kneeling down next to Drake who was lying on the cot. He seemed to be trying to calm Drake and soothe his pain with his herbal medicines. Luna was kneeling on Drake's other side, holding his hand in her paws. I looked down at Drake and saw with horror, a Scyther blade pierced through Drake's left leg. The arm was severed at the elbow, leaving only the forearm and the blade. I shuddered from the gruesome sight, trying to keep my eyes averted from his leg.
"Drake… What happened?" I asked.
"A Scyther happened," Drake said in a gruff voice, without picking up his head. We need to get him help, now.
"Can't we get a Chansey or a Nurse Joy to help us out?"
"They're all too busy with 'critical' patients," Mytka said solemnly.
"Bullshit, there has to be someone." A Nurse Joy was walking by a row of beds over from us. "We need some help here," I called out to her. Joy's head whipped around without even breaking her stride.
"We'll be with you as soon as we can sir," she said bluntly, not filled with any emotion. She walked off and out of sight. I turned my head back to face everyone else.
"Don't worry Drake, we'll get you some help soon."
Nurse Joy came by and gave Drake some pain relievers thirty minutes later. Two hours after that, Drake was knocked out cold from the strong medicine. We were still huddled around the cot. I had taken a seat on the grass next to Karyme, Kain and Orin. Ryo was sitting next to Mytka at the foot of the cot. Luna hadn't left Drake's side. Mytka had her legs pulled up to her chest with her head on her knees.
"He isn't going to… die, is he?" Mytka asked in a quiet voice.
"He shall be fine," Ryo reassured. "He's been through a lot and much worse than this. Remember when he came all the way to find you after you had been taken away by that evil Alpha of mine?" Mytka looked up at Ryo and grinned weakly. Ryo hugged her briefly, returning her grin.
I gazed around at the injured people and Pokemon around us. They were all hurting pretty bad. Physically and emotionally. Mothers, sisters, brothers, spouses, fathers. They were dying right now all around us. People were going through a great deal of pain. Some were screaming from their injuries. Agony. It was all happening here, in this city. Because of Malak. It was his entire fault. I became very frustrated. What does he want? What was the reason for all of this? All of this pain and suffering. But it's obvious though, what he wants. The reason why he's been causing pain around Sinnoh, chasing us down. The purpose for attacking the city and harming innocent people and Pokemon. It seemed outlandish and extremely stupid, but it had to be because of me. What else did he really want? He's never showed any sign for anything else besides power and trying his hardest to kill me. He already has power, so that means he only has one other thing left to do. The whole Oreburgh Mine deal, was a trap laid for me. Alpha Sadi and his pack collaborated with him to try and kill me. Those two Sneasel that attacked me said something about how pleased Malak would be if they killed me. Hell, he even sent two people after me to drag me back to him. He must know that I'm in the city somehow. And he won't let up on the attack until I was dead… Or until I was in his possession… Was it really his fault that people were dying? Or was it mine… Was I hiding from everything and being a coward. I thought of today how I cowered up in the tower instead of helping fight back. How those two men had died while I hid. How Derek had given his life, so that I could live… Live and then run away again. I was throwing innocent people and Pokemon in front of me so that I could sit back and hide while they died and suffered… Yes… It was my fault… And I was being extremely selfish. But no more. I'm going to do the right thing now and end all of this. I have to give myself up to Malak. It was the only way. Then all of this madness could end. I stood up and started walking back to Kurt's house.
"Where are you going, Alex?" Karyme asked.
"I'll be right back," I said over my shoulder. I kept my head down and kept walking until I was out of the medical campsite. Then I ran.
I dumped everything out of my backpack onto the bed in Kurt's guest room. I'm only taking bare essentials. I pulled the broken remains of my first knife off of the bed. It sure brought back memories. I had to have this with me… Until the end came. I took it and put it in my pants pocket before moving on. I moved about the room, gathering items until I heard a small voice at the door.
"Alex?" I turned around and saw Karyme standing there, looking worried.
"Hey Karyme," I said starting to pack again. She walked over to me and gazed up into my face.
"Alex, what are you doing? Where are you going?"
"I'm going to set things right again. I have to confront Malak myself." I was finished gathering everything I needed. "There, that's everything," I said zipping it shut and setting it on the bed.
"What? No you're not!" Karyme said, startled.
"Karyme, I love you, but I have to do this. I'm being selfish just sitting here while other people are suffering and dying."
"And I love you too, that's why I'm not going to let you do this. What do you even mean, you're being selfish?"
"I mean that, Malak is after me. He hates my guts and he's attacking the city and killing everyone just because I'm here. And what am I doing? Sitting on my ass and hiding like a little coward!"
"Alex, he hates anything that moves. He hates 'weak' Pokemon and he absolutely loathes humans. It is not just because you're here."
"Well then why the hell did he try and trap us in Oreburgh Mine? Huh? Why did he do that?"
"Alex, he-"
"And then the whole 'water Pokemon pack' ordeal! That wasn't a coincidence that he just so happened to show up you know!"
"Yes, but Alex-"
"Oh and the fact that two Sneasel were just ecstatic to get a chance to kill me was just a coincidence as well?"
"Alex!" Karyme said angrily. "He's been attacking this city for months before we showed up! Now you're not going to go out and be all noble just because you think he's after you!"
"He sent two fucking people after me! You were there, you saw!" Karyme flinched from my sudden outburst. Her face fell and she looked hurt.
"Alex, please don't," she said, a tear trickling down her cheek. "You're all I have, I don't want to lose you to him too." The anger seeped out of me, mellowing myself out.
"I have to Karyme, I don't want to, I have to. I'm not going to be the reason for anymore deaths." I picked up my backpack and slung it over my back. I walked to the door and stopped halfway out of the room. "I'm sorry…," I added over my shoulder, solemnly before walking out the door. I walked down the stairs with my backpack, fighting to hold back a few tears. I got to the front door and placed my hand on the doorknob, when I felt a tug on the back of my shirt. I turned around and saw Karyme holding my shirt in her jaws. I sighed. "Karyme, I have to-"
"I'm coming with you," she interjected. I blinked a few times before I comprehended what she had said.
"Karyme, what about Kain? Someone has to take care of him. I have to go alone."
"I'm going with you," she said again. "I love you too much to let you go. We've been together for a long time now and it's going to stay that way."
"You're not going anywhere without me," a voice said from the living room. Luna stepped into the foyer. I was shocked.
"L-Luna? Why didn't you stay with Drake?"
"He was knocked out cold and Nurse Joy can easily look after him. Right now you need my help."
"And you're gonna need my help too," Mytka said, appearing next to Luna. "I'm ready to do my part."
"Mytka? You too?" Mytka smiled at me.
"You'd be foolish to depart without accepting my aid as well," Ryo said, appearing as well behind Mytka and Luna. "Or without saying goodbye." I could only stare. Kain and his friend Orin appeared too.
"Orin and I have your back dad," Kain said smiling. Orin nodded in agreement. I looked down at Karyme and found her smiling warmly up at me. Fresh tears leaked out of my eyes, but from happiness this time. I couldn't believe how much they all supported me. How they would follow me into the bowels of hell without a second thought. I loved each and every one of them. I laughed.
"All right, you got me," I said. "I just wanted to say that-"
"Come on, we don't have time for sappy stuff, we need to go," Mytka said.
"Yeah, let's get him already," Kain added. I grinned.
"All right then. Let's do it. Together…"
End Notes: Well there you have it and again, I do apologize for the long delay. Relationship stuff for me has been holding me back from my writing… Not a very happy time right now, but I knew I had to get this done. Also a reminder to you all that I have a poll on my profile. Please drop your vote in if you get the chance! I just wanted some insight on my characters. Oh and give me feedback on what you thought about this chapter. Any suggestions, comments, corrections or thoughts are welcome! And again, I will post next chapter A.S.A.P. and the chapter after that will come exactly a week later. So… later then guys!