Chapter 5:
With the sun high in the sky, the ever-flowing fields of snow glistened like diamonds. I gazed at the sparkling field as I munched my apple, careful to keep it from freezing over in the morning air. Half my body felt like it was on fire under the thick cloth, while the other half was being consumed by the frosty air. Having left Glacier's outpost and crossed back over the mountains, we were in place to begin rescue patrols.
"So, how are we going to help save other Pokémon?" I asked while taking another bite of my apple.
"Well," Flake gathered her thoughts, "We will be scanning the Snow Flats for any sign of Pokémon and rescue those that we can."
I took a moment to consider her words, "Huh, there's no trick to it? You just walk around and stumble on Pokémon?"
"Kind of," she said in response. "Sometimes I can sniff them out, other times I can see emergency beacons from explorer badges. However, the Snow Flats are a really big place and I need to patrol constantly to find those in trouble. It may take weeks before I see even one Pokémon."
"That long?" I asked a little surprised at the idea of the extended isolation.
"Pokémon rarely come into the Snow Flats and this place is so immense that it's hard to find them when they do."
I hurriedly finished my apple and jumped up with enthusiasm, "Well then, no time to waste. Let's go."
Flake smiled a little and got up to follow me.
We tread the blanket of snow until the sun landed on the horizon. I could feel the cold winds of night nipping at my bones. "Should we start to look for a place to…" My voice trailed off as I watched Flake. She was sniffing around. "What is it?"
"This way," was all she said before darting off.
I tried my best to follow, but her snowy silhouette made it nearly impossible to distinguish her in the fading light.
When we came to a stop at an uninteresting patch of snow, I tried to catch my breath. Flake didn't. She began digging, pawing piles of snow behind her in urgent determination. I realized with a start that she was digging up buried explorers and rushed to her aid.
"Can you still use flamethrower?" Flake panted, pointing at the snow.
I nodded and bellowed a pillar of fire. The frozen winds tore at the flames, but they reached their mark and scorched the snow with enough heat to melt it.
Flake yelled at me to quit and dove into the resulting hole. She suddenly stilled and the quiet engulfed us.
The silence was almost as unbearable as the frozen wind. "Flake?" I asked concerned. I stepped up behind her and gazed into the pit. The sight horrified me and I tripped over my own legs as I tried to backpeddle. The face of a Furret, frozen in its last moments, stared back at me. I knew it wasn't uncommon for an exploration team to meet its end, but I hadn't really thought about how it would feel to come face to face with it. I took a deep shuddering breath and tried to steady myself. My thoughts focused on a whisper from Flake.
"Only dead by a day," the hushed words trembled, "If only I hadn't… if only I had been faster…"
I took a step closer to try to console her, but before I could give voice to a single word, Flake stood and climbed out of the pit. She resumed traveling in the direction we had been going.
I looked back down before calling to Flake with the beginnings of incredulous anger tinging my voice, "We're just going to leave them?"
"The next storm will bury them." Her words were simple.
I couldn't believe that we were just leaving an exploration team out here. Even if they didn't make it, usually some proof was brought back, "Aren't we at least going to collect their badges?"
"Finding all of them would take too long. I must hurry to save those I can."
I had the feeling she was talking more to herself than me. I turned to the pit and uttered a prayer before I ran to catch up with Flake. Flake showed no signs of stopping as the sun dipped below the horizon. As the night air began to chill my bones, I had the sinking feeling that we weren't resting for the night.
Snow. Where once I was captivated by the beauty of the pearly white landscape, now it was simply a mundane backdrop to our endless patrols. We only paused in our scouting to deliver supplies once a month. I missed bathing in fire, a commodity that just doesn't survive in the frozen north even if I try to make it. I missed sleeping in a warm bed, devoid of the harsh winds that woke me at night. I missed the hot food of a proper kitchen rather than the cold raw fruits we had to carry. The winds that used to sap my energy barely touched me anymore, so at least that's a plus.
"Storms coming," Flake stated as the hulking grey clouds ravenously rushed towards us. Though those storms terrified me in the beginning, we had survived enough of them that I was becoming apathetic.
I reattached the red guide wire between the two of us. When I looked up, I saw Flake engrossed in sniffing the air. Before words escaped my mouth, a strange scent wafted past my nose. It was the first time I smelled anything in months and, although it was faint, it was distinct.
Flake's head turned to the storm, "They're in there," before waiting for my response, Flake rushed forward into the raging blizzard, practically dragging me along behind her.
As the storm intensified, I began to lose sight of Flake, the bright red wire my only lead.
We traversed the storm for what felt like an eternity, Flake leading the way while I stumbled around behind her. Then I faintly saw an odd distortion through the snowy fog. Apparently, Flake also picked up on it as she immediately changed direction.
When we arrived at where I thought the distortion was, nothing but white remained. The wind became frighteningly strong and I realized, as my body chilled, that Flake had lowered her blizzard barrier. I had no idea what had happened to Flake. Panic welled up inside me as my limbs began to numb.
A voice yelling in my ear almost made me jump. I could feel the face next to my ear but even then, the words seemed miles away, "Use your flames to beat back the storm!"
My fears eased knowing that Flake was okay. I turned to face the lethal winds. Unlike being in Flake's protective bubble, this was horrifying. Starring down these ravenous white winds took more courage than starring down any Pokémon. The urge to run away threatened to consume me as I felt the snow quickly bury my huge snowshoes. I removed the covering over my mouth and took a long deep breath of the frigid dry air. With all the power I could muster, I channeled my raging emotions into a pillar of fire. The results were not impressive. The column of fire was not the huge gale that Flake had used to hold back the storm, but just a simple flamethrower. However, a simple flamethrower was enough to keep some of the winds off my partner. As my breath ran dry, a frightening feeling crept into my lungs and I hacked. I tried to take another breath, but the cold wind seared my throat and only a pathetic flicker of the previous flamethrower fell from my lips.
No, I need more, I thought.
I pooled all my reserves. I took another deep breath of the icy air and the flames I had longed for came out with a huff. They barely extended beyond my face, but I felt like it was sustainable. I couldn't help but be overjoyed that for the first time I was beating back this hellish storm that was trying to take my life, even if it was just a little.
I felt Flake tap my shoulder before yelling in my ear. "Keep them warm. Don't worry about the storm." She once again disappeared into the storm with only the red tether connecting us.
I turned to see two grey blobs on the ground, the storm obscuring their forms. I quickly went to their aid, shielding the Pokémon with my body. The size of one of them made it difficult. I tried to pull them in as close as possible and put my back to the storm. To heat them up, I used my minuscule flamethrower. This was the first time I purposely tried not to hit some-Pokémon with a flamethrower and it proved challenging. My continuous breath of flame quickly became strenuous.
All my thoughts were quickly dashed aside as I felt snow pile up on my back at an alarming rate. My mind betrayed me as it flashed back to my first venture with the storm and how it consumed me and my friends. My mind flashed back to the Furret we found, but I couldn't stop envisioning myself in his place.
I felt a bubble of hysteria welling up as snow continued to bury me. My flames wavered as I struggled to hold onto my composure. I'm not going to die here, I'm not going to die here, I thought in a vain attempt to quell my fears.
Right before the instinct to jump up and run overwhelmed me, a paw tapped my shoulder. I spun around to see Flake. She pointed at the Pokémon that I had huddled around me and then pointed at a sled. I didn't even give it a second thought. On pure instinct, I got up and lifted the Pokémon with me. Perhaps not the smartest idea as the Pokémon was huge, difficult to grip and weighed a ton. Flake used her tails to pick up the other Pokémon, something that I was extremely jealous of because I could never hope to be so skilled with my tails. She then assisted me with moving them onto the sled. The sled had an igloo of ice on it. How it got there I didn't know and, at the moment, I didn't care. We hoisted the Pokémon onto the sled and Flake went to the push bar. I moved to assist, but Flake stopped me with the shake of her head. She simply pointed at the two Pokémon and I knew what she meant. I felt bad leaving her to push the sled alone, but she was right, I was the only one that could keep them warm.
As the sled began to move, I huddled up with the two mysterious Pokémon and let out a simple flame.
The snowstorm ravaged on. The protective igloo that Flake had made spared the three of us from the worst of it, but it didn't help Flake who was pushing the cart outside. I could see her warding off the winds through the unprotected entrance. I couldn't help but feel bad for making her endure the storm. Inside the igloo, it was actually rather warm compared to the outside air. The surrounding ice kept the winds off us and the heat from my flames contained. I had to make sure that my pillar of fire was weak enough not to melt the igloo or burn our passengers, but also strong enough to provide heat when the storm's ravenous air blew in. It was a strenuous process to say the least. Now that my vision was no longer obscured by the storm, I could see that the Pokémon we had saved were Accelgor and Pangoro. When we had initially begun our journey, the Accelgor's head piece seemed to be a sickly blue. I felt a sense of relief as his reddish color gradually returned. Although I could not see the skin of the Pangoro through his fur, I could only imagine he had gone through the same process.
What had brought them up here? Did they believe what my team did? That there was treasure up here? Is there treasure up here? All I've seen is endless snow. Why? Why would they send exploration teams up here to die? My flames began to erupt and I forced myself to calm down to regain control of the flames.
The Accelgor stirred in their sleep. I couldn't help but think that this is what I looked like when Flake saved me. Then he woke up. I was so startled by his sudden rise that I completely lost control of my flamethrower and had to quell it. The Accelgor sat up and rocked his head, clearly showing that his senses had not entirely returned to him yet.
"Uh, Flake," I tried to get her attention.
The voice that I heard back sounded like it was miles away and strained, "Handle it."
"Hello," I tried at a flimsy greeting.
The Accelgor didn't seem to register it. Slowly, I saw the Accelgor's eyes fill with life, and then panic.
"It's alright, we aren't here to hurt you." I tried to sooth, but it appeared to have little effect.
"Who are you?" He said as he rushed to the wall like a cornered wild Pokémon.
"We're a rescue team, we're here to help." That seemed to calm him down a little.
"I…I thought we were in the snowstorm." He said still trying to assess his bearing.
"You still are," Flake's voice was like a whisper against the whirling winds outside.
The Accelgor's eyes were drawn outside to the voice, then to the fallen comrade next to him.
"Where's Lilith?" His eyes searched the igloo for a form that was not there.
"Who?" I asked. I only remembered seeing two Pokémon.
"The Lilligant didn't make it." Flake's words made the room silent, and heavy.
"No…Lilith can't be…can't be…there's no way Lilith could die…"
My own emotions were whirling inside me like an inferno. I felt angry that Flake didn't save Lilith, that I couldn't have saved them. Fear mixed with that anger as I thought that I could have been in the same place as that Lilligant. Despite my own emotions, the Accelgor was visibly in distress. I had to put my thoughts on hold because there was someone who needed me now. I tried to think of a way to console him. Before I could form my thoughts into words, the Accelgor got to his feet and quickly darted out of the Igloo.
"W…Wait!" His sudden movements surprised me at first. "It's dangerous!" I knew my words fell on deaf ears as no one could hear once they stepped into that frozen blizzard. As if being hit by it all at once, I felt the room slowly chill from the outside air.
Flake, who was equally surprised by the Accelgor's rash action, disconnected the tether and spoke quickly. "Push the cart in circles around this," Flake let out an ice beam and in mere seconds, a tall pillar of ice reached for the heavens. "This will keep the Igloo warm while you're pushing." She tossed a glowing lantern into the hut. "I'll find you later." And like that she disappeared into the blinding white blizzard.
I was left a little dazed from the entire exchange and had to take a second to process it all. Once I had gathered myself, I began my tasks. I recoiled as I exited the warm igloo into the freezing winds, but I had to push the sled or we'd be buried. I couldn't help but feel the weight of isolation bear down on me almost as furiously as the storm itself. Even though I knew that Flake would return, I couldn't help but feel abandoned in this place of death. The chill of the air bit down on me and kept sinking deeper as time went on. The winds battered at me as I rotated endlessly around the pillar of ice, getting closer and closer to the top as the snow piled up.
Rays of light penetrated through the icy walls of the igloo. The intrusion of the unwanted light on my eyelids forced me to stir. My whole body was sore and all I wanted was just a little more sleep, but the rising sun had other ideas. Reluctantly, I woke up and stretched my aching muscles.
"Guess I fell asleep waiting," I said to no one in particular. A sudden surging pain enveloped me in my chest. I instinctively covered the area with a paw and recoiled. As suddenly as the pain appeared, it disappeared leaving me more confused than hurt.
The storm had subsided long ago and now I was just waiting for Flake to return. However, it had been an entire night and I was starting to get worried. I looked over at our still unconscious passenger with the lantern beside him. I found it strange how the lantern had spent this entire time burning, yet it looked like it was just lit. Although the golden glow was only the size of a candle flame, I could feel it radiate power and life.
"What is this thing?" the mystery gripped me.
I put the lantern down and went outside. I could feel the chill morning air even through my thick layers of cloth. Pristine snow greeted me as far as the eye could see with mountains in the background contrasting against the white…nothing's changed even after the storm. I did notice that the tall pillar Flake had made was now only a small stub sticking out of the ground. Just how much snow do these storms drop? I became increasingly concerned for Flake as the thought of her being buried lingered.
"I'm going to find her." I finally said. It's already been a day and we don't have the supplies to last. And what if another one of those storms strike, I need to find Flake before that. I tried to rationalize.
I began to push the sled in the direction where I thought Flake had run off to. The mountains were a good anchor point to judge the direction. With the mountains to the north, I'd say I was going Northwest.
I wandered aimlessly with no sign of her. I heard a voice on the wind but couldn't make out any words. I searched around but saw nothing for miles. Again, a voice with no words, as if the whispers were nothing more than the chattering of the wind. I began to think I was hallucinating until I finally saw something off in the distance. A form, not like Flake's, sat just out of focus.
I quickly rushed to what I thought was a Pokémon. As I stumbled upon where I thought I saw the form, there was nothing but open air.
"Maybe I am hallucinating," Then suddenly, the wind picked up and a strange smell assaulted my nose. It was the smell of a Pokémon. My heart filled with childlike glee as I had finally caught a whiff of Flake. I feverishly followed the scent.
I was so engrossed in tracking the smell that I tripped and tumbled forward. My body was once again rudely reminded of how much it ached. It was a struggle to get my paws under me with these massive snow boots. When I went to see what had tripped me, I saw a small ice pipe. I peered down the pipe but saw only darkness.
"Hello," My shouted echoed down the pipe, not expecting a response.
"Hello," an echoing voice returned, frightening me.
"Flake is that you?"
"Yes Valixalyle, could you help dig us out?"
"Of course," I shouted back before beginning to dig at the snow around the ice. I was easily able to displace the light surface snow, but as I went deeper the snow slowly became more dense and harder to dig. I had to use my flamethrower to melt through the packed snow. After several flamethrowers, I came upon a wall of thick ice. I couldn't break it with my paws if I wanted to. I was forced to slowly melt through the hard ice with my flames.
Once I had breached the ice, I found a cavity underneath, a cavity with only Flake in it.
"Hey," I shouted down to Flake. "Grab onto this." I threw down one end of the red tether.
Flake grabbed on and I started hoisting her up. I strained to keep my balance as I found it hard to grip the icy slope. A few strenuous moments later, she was up.
"Valixalyle, I'm sorry for leaving you alone and getting trapped," Flake said, "I got a little too carried away."
I was at a loss for how to respond. I was still new to this rescue team thing and I didn't really know what to say. I just tried to find a way to cheer her up, "Isn't it our job to risk our lives saving others? No need to feel down over it."
"It's more than that, my reckless actions put you in danger."
"I guess…"
We stood in the pit surrounded by awkward silence. Flake was the first one to climb out and I followed.
"So, you weren't able to find him then?" I asked dejectedly, already knowing the answer.
Flake smiled back at me and fluffed her tails. That's when I noticed that they were curled up. She stepped up to the igloo and unraveled her tails and Accelgor came tumbling out, along with a lantern.
Flake turned to me and said, "If I risk your life to save another, I'll always make sure that I save that Pokémon's life. No matter what."