Pokémon Police Force Chapter 16: The Burning Sands
"Get up!"
I slowly open my eyes, too groggy to focus.
"I said, get up, filthy Swinub!"
I was roughly pulled to my feet and felt someone jabbed me in the back, hard.
"Walk."
I did as ordered and began walking. Slowly, consciousness returned to me, and I became aware of my surroundings. I was walking through a long, dusty corridor made of stone. There were barred doors lining each side of the corridor. I became aware of how much I was sweating.
I was in prison and wherever 'here' was, it was awfully hot. Yep, I wasn't going to enjoy my visit here. The guards escorting me were both Combusken. One before me, one behind. The corridor was straight and narrow. If I tried to run, it would be painful, and not just because of the scent of body odor in the air.
I decided to stick to the mantra "silence is golden" and shut it. These guards likely were on the lookout for any means of resistance, but they shouldn't be aware of that power.
I closed my normal right eye and looked only through my left, Zygarde-enhanced, green eye. Through the eye, I seen a narrow corridor with no branching paths and cells lining each side. So, in a word, nothing. I learned nothing.
I opened my right eye and continued on as I was before.
Several long and grueling minutes passed before I was thrust inside a room. The room was lavish. There was a sea foam green carpet on the floor and a fancy teak desk in the middle of the room. Shelves of binders lined the walls to the left and right and behind the desk was a wall-length window. The sun was shining brightly through the window and nearly blinded me. I almost didn't notice the Garchomp sitting behind the desk.
"Glad you could make it," said the Garchomp.
"Could you draw some blinds or something?" I asked, "I can't see!"
"Quiet!" Said one of the Combusken as he slapped me.
"Stop that," warned the Garchomp, "it's all right."
Garchomp drew heavy curtains across the window, blocking out the light. The curtains were in the same sea foam green as the carpet.
"Thank you," I said.
"Warden Garchomp. You would be Argyle, I assume?"
"That's right."
"Guards, remove that mask. It is not allowed here."
I grabbed Combusken's wrist as he tried to follow the warden's command.
"The mask stays," I said, "third degree burn over half my face. Do you like the sight of a visible skull and burnt flesh?"
Combusken withdrew his hand at once.
"Combusken, search him for contraband."
"Contraband, where?" Asked Combusken in shock, "in his mask? There is no way I am touching a skull, thank you!"
"What kind of a stupid Pokémon would carry something around in a mask? Disgusting!" I said.
"Fine, the mask stays," said the warden, "as our new prisoner, you get the orientation."
I had no intention of staying.
"Our rules are simple; do as we say and you don't get beat."
"Straightforward."
"You're in the minimum security ward. Normally, I would put an arsonist like you in maximum security, but as most of your crimes are petty thievery…"
They sorely underestimate me.
"Enjoy your stay," the warden said, "you'll be spending the rest of your life here. Guards, take him back to his cell."
The guards led me back to my cell. Once inside, I sat on the crummy bed provided and took inventory of my situation.
"I've got to get out of here. If they find out that she's a policewoman, it will be bad. I'll start on the lock."
I walked over to the lock on the cell door and began tinkering with it. A solid iron lock with platinum inlay and a brass piston setup. An easy lock to lock and unlock and can be easily melted to seal a prisoner inside forever.
I began picking the lock with my claw. It took a little bit of tinkering to get it to unlock. Then, I popped the lock back in place and began picking it again. My escape will require me to act quickly. I have to practice until I am able to break myself out in my sleep.
Hours passed before I heard movement down the corridor. I hastily locked my cell again and plopped down on the bed. One by one, the cell doors opened until they got to mine.
"Lunch time," said the guard, this time a Rhydon.
The Rhydon guard unlocked my cell and opened the door.
"Follow the line, new meat."
I did as I was told and followed the queue down the corridor. We were led into a small mess hall, where I was handed a tray. One of the prisoners on lunch duty, slapped some indescribable mush on my tray and I took my seat.
"I thought I seen a new face."
I was joined by, surprisingly, a Salazzle. This is bad. If she decides she likes me, I won't have to drop the soap.
"Well, half of one, I guess," I said, "don't worry about me, I'll obey the warden."
"The warden? What are you talking about? I'm a prisoner here, just like you."
"Oh, the guards here are mostly Fire type, so…"
"Don't worry, I get that a lot. What's your name?"
"Argyle," I said.
"An unusual name for a Sneasel. I'm called Sal, short for Salandra."
"Nice to meet you," I said.
"What're you in for?"
"Larceny. The rest of the crimes were pinned on me."
"What crimes?"
"Burning a town to the ground."
"…Seriously?"
"Yeah."
"I was a drug dealer," said Sal, "was attempting to leave that life when Johnny Law caught up to me."
I decided to ask Sal. She seemed more reasonable than the guards.
"Where are we? What prison is this?"
"The Burning Sands. It's in the middle of a desert."
A desert!? A Nidoqueen-loving desert!? No wonder it's so hot here!
"You don't look like you're familiar with the prison system," Sal said, "the first thing you should do is make friends. I wish to be your friend."
Friends. I'm not sure I know what that word means anymore.
"Last friends I had betrayed me," I admitted.
"Then they weren't really your friends," Sal said bluntly, "tell you what, after our time in the yard, meet me in the north corridor of cell block G. I'll show you what real friends are like."
I know I shouldn't be blindly trusting a drug dealer, but something about this Salazzle told me I should at least give her a chance. Or maybe it was the parasite living in my head.
"Hey!"
Okay, going to have to get used to that.
"Where is cell block G?"
"Take the door opposite the one they'll lead us through into the yard, at the far side. You'll find your way soon enough."
We exchanged some light chit chat for the rest of the lunch period, talking about life on the outside. She wasn't institutionalized, far from it, in fact, she seemed like a good sort. If this venture into cell block G turns out well, I'll break her out too.
Shortly afterward, we were led out into the yard, a high walled courtyard filled to my knees with sand. I lost track of Sal somewhere along the way. The sand was hard to walk in, so I decided to pass the time by jogging in the hot sun. The sand burned as I ran, but it only encouraged me to run faster.
"I thought I smelled new meat."
Over my shoulder, I noticed three Pokémon walking toward me. An Arbok, an Eiscue and a Bergmite. Most likely the bullies of the prison.
"Where do you think you're going, meat?" Asked Arbok.
"Getting away from your stink," I said, "I could smell you from the moon."
"Shove it, wisea-!" Shouted Bergmite.
"Let it go," said Eiscue, "the boys and I need to teach you who's really in charge here."
"And I'm supposed to take orders from someone with a block of ice on their head?"
"That does it!" Shouts Eiscue.
"Get him, boys!"
(Zygarde, help me out here.)
At once, my sight became green-scale as my right eye turned green. Without warning, I plowed Arbok into the sand. His two backup dancers decided to try to help him, but one angry glare from me and they thought better of it.
"You. What are you!?" Asked Arbok in shock.
"Shut up and listen for once. No one cares about you or your over-inflated ego. I have seen things that would make you run into your cell crying."
I punched the sand next to his face, making a huge plume of sand erupt into the air. So much sand was displaced that you could see a hole in the stone floor underneath.
"You are not the alpha male here, I am! Now, whimper like the pathetic beta you are!"
To my surprise Arbok started to tear up.
"You're pathetic. Get out of my sight, before I make you eat your tongue!"
With a surprised gasp, Arbok slithered out of my grasp and fled for his life.
"A-Arbok!" Yelled Bergmite as he and Eiscue ran after him.
My vision returned to normal and I stood up. All around me, the other prisoners stood with shocked expressions.
"What're you looking at?"
The Pokémon turned away from me and I was able to enjoy the rest of my "recess" in relative peace. After the "recess", the prisoners each dispersed, assumedly to go about their various prison-issued jobs. I decided to go find Sal before they found one for me. Heading through the door she told me about, I quickly found the G block and found Sal in the north corridor thereof.
"There you are," said Sal the Salazzle, "I see you found the place all right."
"Thanks to your directions."
"I saw you were making some new friends in the yard."
"Yeah, one day in and I'm already popular."
"How does it feel being the second scariest inmate?"
"The second scariest? Who's the first?"
"A huge Pokémon by the name of Bruiser. He's detained within the maximum security ward. Be glad you haven't met him."
"Duly noted. So, what did you want to show me?"
Sal taps on a solid steel door beside her.
"Through here. How good are you at picking locks?"
I snickered.
"Please. A better question would be what lock couldn't I pick?"
I knelt before the door and examined the lock. It was just a modern key lock used in a lot of homes nowadays. Evidently, whatever was stored within didn't warrant the same level of security as everywhere else in the prison.
"Just give me a moment here and…"
The lock opens with a triumphant click.
"Done."
"That was… way too easy."
"I've been picking locks like this since I was a child."
"Well, it's a good thing I found you then."
Sal opens the heavy steel door.
"Quickly now."
She steps through the door and I follow her, making sure to close the door after us. Inside was a small room containing a stairway leading down. The only thing that stood in our way was a chain-link wall with a door. On the door was a sign that read:
Warning: High Voltage
Possibility of electrocution and death
"It's on," said Sal, "but what I have to show you lies just beyond."
I scanned the room and found what I was looking for. An electrical box stashed away in a corner of the room. Inside the box, there were all manner of wires, switches and electrical components. Nothing really that screamed "off switch" though.
"I hope you know what you're doing," said Sal.
"That makes two of us," I replied.
I began fiddling with the electrical box. Luckily for me, each electrical component seemed to be powered via cable. I noticed that one component had a green light switched on, so I pulled on the cable connected to the chip it was on and the light promptly shut off.
"Do you happen to have anything on you?" I asked.
"I have this," said Sal, handing me a shiv.
"Perfect."
Without warning, I threw the shiv at the fence. No spark, no shock, nothing.
"You've disabled it!"
"Not quite yet. See that light? If anyone were to open this box and see it off like this, they'll know we're down there."
"How can I help?" Asked Sal.
"I'm going to play with the wires. There has to be one connected directly with the fence. Whenever I give the word, take that shiv and test the fence."
"You got it, boss!"
(Great, and now there's two of them.)
Without further ado, I replaced the cable and began disconnecting other cables. Sal would throw the shiv like I did every so often to check my progress. It was slow going, but I eventually found the cable I was looking for, hidden at the very back behind some computer chips. After I disconnected it, the green light stayed on.
"Try it again," I said for the umpteenth time.
Sal threw the shiv yet again. No response from the fence. I grabbed hold of one of the links. No shock.
"Victory," I proudly announced.
"Nice."
Sal walked to the chain link gate and pushed it open.
"Now then, shall we?"
I replaced the panel on the electrical box and followed Sal through the fence and down the staircase behind it. The staircase led to a hidden floor panel concealing a ladder leading down. After we had descended the ladder, we wound up in a pitch-black room. Sal fumbled with something and an electric lamp turned on.
We were in a maintenance access tunnel. A small, claustrophobic hallway ending at another iron door. Alongside the hallway was a gigantic bronze pipe, big enough to comfortably fit a Wailmer in. Sal tapped the pipe.
"I discovered this room during my last escape attempt. I believe this pipe is our ticket out of here."
She led me to a hole deliberately melted out of it.
"I was caught right here. That's when they put the electric fence in."
"So, you have no idea if this is a pipe dream or not."
"Nice choice of words, but accurate. I can't see in the dark either."
"Sal, you are an Arceus-send."
"That's what friends are for."
Suddenly, my mind went back to everything that happened to lead up to this point. All the Pokémon that lent their support to me despite my condition and… legal status. Is this what real friendship is like? I may not have that answer, yet, there is one thing I know.
"Emerald, I'm going to get you out."
"Emerald? Is that your girlfriend?"
"No, she's an officer. She was framed alongside me."
"Oh no. If the inmates discover that there's a lawman-"
"I know. We need an escape plan and it needs to be executed flawlessly."
"You sound like you already have something in mind."
"I do. I feel that Bruiser is going to be a big part of that plan."
Over the next couple of weeks, I served my time as an inmate, working on an escape plan with Sal and practicing each step until our execution was flawless. It was only practice, but once we had ironed out all the wrinkles, the time came to try our plan for real.
On day 17 of my incarceration, it was time to try to escape. My first task was the big, scary guy of the prison: Bruiser.
"Bruiser is a Toxitricity. He rarely leaves his cell and barely talks to anyone," Sal said several days ago, "though if his track record here has anything to say, he was probably locked up for murder."
"Got anything we can use?"
"The only thing he seems to value is the stuffed Sobble doll he takes everywhere. The last person that stole it took a trip to the crematory later that same day. Alive."
"That's… not comforting."
The only time that Bruiser doesn't take the toy is when he's in the prison shower. I snuck up to Bruiser's cell in the maximum security ward and picked the lock. Then, I stole the Sobble doll and left the note I had written earlier that day.
Your stupid doll is now property of the warden.
I left the cell with the door open and snuck back to the yard. Clutching the doll close, I gave Sal the signal to start her part of the plan. A prison riot.
I then ducked out of the door and into the corridor so that Sal could work her magic. It wasn't long until I could hear the fruits of her labor.
"Come here you motherfu-!"
Then, all at once, the sounds of mass fighting erupted from the yard. I then proceeded with phase 3: getting rid of the doll.
I snuck through the corridors and to the warden's office. Inside the shadows I waited until the warden left to personally deal with the riot. Finally, I snuck in, left the Sobble doll on his desk and snuck out, running to the maintenance tunnel.
"No strings attached, I see," said Sal, already waiting outside the door.
"How did things go on your end?"
"YOU! YOU STOLE MR. SNIFFLES!"
An earthshaking boom and pained yells echoed through the corridors.
"I think it's going well."
"Never mind that, we need to hurry."
It took me no time at all to pick the lock and then disable the electric fence within, having practiced it so much. In fact, we were already climbing down the ladder within a minute. We dared not turn on the light for fear of pursuit.
"I'm relying on you now," said Sal as we touched ground in the maintenance tunnel, "hope your dark vision is as good as you claim."
I led Sal into the bronze pipe. Predictably, it was a sewer pipe. Geez, sewers have become my best friend lately. The pipe had been unused for years, so instead of treading trough wet feces, we had to walk through dry sewage. It did not improve the smell at all.
We made our way as quickly as we could manage, following the bright cloths that Sal and I had tied during our practice runs. Sal made sure to remove them as we walked. Eventually, the air got dryer, hotter and began smelling wholly more pleasant. The darkness began gradually fading and giving way to the light.
"Argyle! We're almost there!"
"Don't go counting our Torchics just yet."
At my words, our pace proceeded to a crawl as we emerged from the pipe and into the hot desert air. I inhaled deeply and looked back behind us.
There was a pipe sticking out of a high stone wall. The prison was behind us, the great desert lay before us. We had escaped.
We were free.
