When we got back to the inn, it was already dark outside. I checked the clock, and realized that we had been searching for almost 24 hours.
"How many hours have passed?" I wondered.
Then, I remembered that Jeffery had given me a map, so I went to the kitchen to fetch it. When I opened the door, I saw Jeffery and four other people. Two of them were carrying a large box in their hands.
"Ah, good evening!" Jeffery greeted me cheerfully. "We sure got some clues!"
"Actually, yes." I answered. "Some explorers did an unbeatable job."
"Good." He smiled. "Well, we are done for today. This is the box containing all the materials that we collected today."
"That's great." I said. "Now, let's open it."
"Of course!" He smiled.
He opened the lid, and showed me the material inside. There were several boxes, each one holding different materials.
"These are the most important ones." He explained. "First, we have these." He took out a box, and showed me its contents.
Inside, there were several photographs. They were showing different pokemon.
"Those are the pokemon that inhabit the area where Articuno lives." He replied.
"Interesting." I said.
"Indeed." He added. "Next, we have these." He took out another box. Inside, there were several sheets of paper.
"Those are the sightings of Articuno." He explained. "We also drew some sketches of its appearance. And finally, we have these." He took out another box. Inside, there were several pieces of wood, carved to look like the body of Articuno.
"Are those appearance models?" I asked.
"Yes." He confirmed. "According to mythology."
"Cool." I said. "So, do you think that we found what we were looking for?"
"I hope so." He replied. "However, we still haven't seen Articuno itself."
"True." I nodded. "Maybe, it has gone somewhere else."
"I doubt that." Jeffery said. "Articuno seems to be very territorial. However It tries to avoid other creatures. Even if it was hungry, it wouldn't go anywhere near them."
"I see." I said. "In that case, maybe it is hiding."
"Well, maybe." He shrugged. "Anyway, we have all the information we need."
"Great." I said. "We can now start analyzing the data. Let's get to work!"
"Sure thing!" He smiled.
We spent the rest of the night in the laboratory with other scientists, analyzing the data. Afterwards, we went to sleep, tired.
I woke up early the next morning, and decided to walk in the garden. As I was strolling through the garden, I noticed that someone was following me. When I looked around, I realized that it was Jeffery.
"Hello." He greeted me. "I wanted to thank you for helping us yesterday."
"Oh, it was nothing." I smiled. "Besides, I enjoyed your company."
"Thank you." He smiled. "So, how do you feel?"
"Fine." I said. "I slept well."
"Good." He nodded. "Do you want to continue our conversation from yesterday?"
"Sure." I said. "Let's go to the library."
"Okay." He agreed.
We left the garden, and went to the library. When we arrived, Jeffery asked me to sit down.
"Okay." I shrugged. "Tell me more about Articuno."
"Well..." He started. "Articuno is a legendary creature."
"I know that." I said. "What's special about it?"
"It's a legendary bird." He explained. "It is the strongest predator in the world. Its speed is unmatched. Its claws are sharp as knives. It has a strong defense system. And also, it has an incredible intelligence. The only creatures that can compete with Articuno are maybe humans."
"Wow!" I said. "That sounds amazing!"
"I agree." He smiled. "If you compare Articuno with other bird pokemon, it is clearly one of the strongest ones discovered by now. But, it is also quite intelligent.
For example, if it sees a human, it flies away immediately. However, if it sees a strong opponent invading its territory, it will attack directly. In addition, it is very curious. Sometimes, it even soars in the sky to observe humans."
"Wow!" I repeated. "That's amazing!" I said. "So, why does it live in the mountains?"
"Because, there aren't many animals that can discover it." He answered. "Also, it might dislike bright lights. That's why it lives in the dark. But, it's smart enough to avoid encounters with humans. That's why it stays away from populated areas."
"I see." I said. "So, why did you ask me to come here today?"
"To ask you where would you search today." He said. "You seemed to enjoy yourself yesterday, and I thought that you might want to help again."
"Well, I do!" I answered. "Talking about searching, I think we are searching for the wrong clues."
"All right." He smiled. "Explain to me."
"Because, Articuno never laid eggs." He answered. "In fact, no one has ever seen it laying eggs. Also, it doesn't seem to be mating or breeding. So, searching for a nest might not be the best idea."
"Really?" Jeffery asked. "Why?"
"Because, according to mythology, Articuno lays eggs and hatches them." I explained. "But, there are no records of such an event happening. Therefore, I believe that we should try searching for something else."
"Something else?" He asked.
"Yes." I continued. "Articuno's original habitat. According to mythology, it came from the ocean. I'm sure that it must have found its way inland eventually. So, my guess is that it could be hiding somewhere near the ocean."
"The ocean?!" Jeffery exclaimed. "But, that doesn't make any sense!"
"Maybe not." I admitted. "But, what if it lives on an island?."
"That makes sense." Jeffery said. "I have heard that a lot of legends relate Articuno to the heights. But, I didn't know that it could be hiding there too."
"Exactly." I agreed. "We'll need to analyze the data further. We may find something."
"Okay." Jeffery nodded. "So, what do you suggest? Where should we go to look for it?"
"Well..." I pondered for a moment. "From the information we had, it seems that Articuno might have been sighted somewhere near the coast. Therefore, I believe that we should search along nearby mountainous islands."
"Then, let's go." Jeffery said. "We can leave tomorrow morning and sail somewhere near the coast."
"Sounds good." I smiled. "Tomorrow, then. Bye!"
"Bye!" Jeffery waved his hand.
Afterwards, I returned to the library, to tell the other guys about what I just thought. After that, we continued our investigation.
The next day, after lunch, we left the city and sailed towards a neighboring island. Our destination was a mountain peak, which was surrounded by rocky cliffs. We also decided to bring some of the materials we collected yesterday.
When we arrived at the island, we disembarked our boat and started walking. From time to time, we stopped to take some photos. Also, we checked the surroundings carefully.
Our task was to climb the mountain peak and check whether Articuno had built a nest or a temporary chamber.
If we found it, we would proceed with the rest of the plan. On the contrary, if we didn't find anything, we would return to the city and prepare for our departure.
As we climbed the mountain, we noticed that the temperature dropped a bit. Fortunately, this wasn't a problem since we were wearing heavy clothes.
Also, we were carrying some food and water for ourselves. Luckily, there weren't any poisonous plants either.
The path was getting steep and narrow. At times, we had to slide on wet rocks, but it wasn't a real problem for the team.
However, as we approached the top, the air became much colder. We also saw that the wind became stronger. This was a bad sign. We couldn't afford to lose our focus, so we kept climbing.
Suddenly, the wind became stronger and stronger until it made our bodies hurt to no end. It also started to snow heavily and the ground beneath our feet became slippery.
Then, suddenly, we felt coldness creeping all over our bodies. Soon, we realized that we were freezing.
"Shit!" Someone shouted. "This isn't good!"
"No! Don't fall off!" Another guy yelled.
At that moment, we heard some loud noises coming from the distance.
"What's going on?!" I yelled.
"I don't know!" Jeffery said. "But, we better hurry!"
"Yeah." I said. "We have to find a shelter before we freeze!"
But the noise became louder and louder. Then, we realized that it was coming closer to us!
"Run!" I shouted. "It's an avalanche!"
We ran trying to escape the avalanche. But, as we ran, we noticed that the avalanche was bigger than expected. It was going to crush us!
"Hurry!" Jeffery cried. "There's no time!"
We ran, desperately trying to get away from the avalanche. I managed to find a small cave that allowed me to hide inside. However, Jeffery and the others had no time to run inside.
"Jeffery!" I called. "Get inside!"
He was too late. The avalanche crashed near the cave's entrance, killing him instantly.
My heart ached. I closed my eyes, thinking about Jeffery.
"No!" I screamed. "Not you too!"
For a few seconds, I felt despair. Then, I opened my eyes again. I knew that there was nothing I could do.
I tried to move back outside, but I quickly realized that the avalanche was still moving forward. I knew that I had to stay hidden, otherwise, it would kill me too.
I was worried. I thought about the rest of the group. What if they had died too?
I was alone now. There was no one to save me anymore.
"Dammit!" I cursed. "Why did this happen?"
I was really scared. The cold was becoming unbearable. My body was shaking uncontrollably.
"Please, don't die." I whispered. "Please, don't leave me here!"
I tried to calm myself. I needed to be focused. I needed to survive.
After a while, the avalanche stopped. I hoped that it had ended. But, I knew that it would start again sooner or later.
"Aaargh!" I shrieked. "I'm gonna die!"
The avalanche started moving again. No matter how hard I struggled, it wouldn't stop. It crushed everything in its path. Even though I was inside the cave, I feared that I would be killed too.
"Help!" I yelled. "Someone please help me!"
I prayed that someone would hear me. But there was no response. Everyone was dead…
I closed my eyes, feeling hopeless and defeated. Hours later, the avalanche stopped, and I opened my eyes slowly.
It was still snowing, but I could exit the cave. I looked around anxiously. Everything seemed to be destroyed. As I moved back outside, I saw the bodies of my friends, lying on the mountain top. I remembered everyone's faces. They were gone.
I stood there for a while, crying bitterly. Then, I walked up to the bodies and placed my hands on their faces. I closed my eyes and thanked them for helping me survive.
Then, I turned around and left. I wanted to live. I didn't know how, but I wanted to live.
I kept walking through the snow, looking for something to keep hope. However, I couldn't find anything. I was completely devastated.
Eventually, night fell. Since I was lost, I decided to spend the night sleeping in the snow.
I woke up during the night, due to the cold. I got up and started walking once more. I searched through the darkness, hoping to find something alive. However, I failed.
During the whole night, I never found anyone. Only a lot of corpses.
The following morning, I woke up to sunlight. I looked out of the cave and saw that snow had covered most of the area. I sighed, knowing that it was useless.
I spent the whole day trying to survive. However, I still had no luck.
In the evening, I was walking through the darkness, looking for food. I was lucky enough to find some nearly-frozen berries which kept me alive, even though it wasn't enough.
Days passed, and I was still surviving. But, I was losing hope. Something told me that I wouldn't survive much longer.
I was walking aimlessly through the dark, as a new powerful storm started to sweep the area again. So I decided to return to the cave where I spent the nights, wishing for the best.
But the intense storm didn't succumb, in fact, the condition was harsher each day. And so as long as I was still waiting for the precious ice bird to come, I started to feel the effects of the cold weather on my body.
Then one evening when I woke up from sleep, my hand was frozen solid as the temperature had dropped sharply.
I felt my body start to give in, as I couldn't resist anymore. What was worse, there was no trace of Articuno at all.
So, I looked around, hoping to see its glowing blue plumage, but I saw nothing. Due to my extreme frustration, I thought my life wasn't worth living anymore by now. All my time and energy wasted on waiting for Articuno was just too much.
So, as soon as I felt the weight of the snow covering my body, I stopped looking at the sky, as I was so cold that I couldn't even feel the sensation of the snow touching my body anymore. After a long hour feeling helpless, I felt unconscious.
