Here's the second chapter of Worlds Apart! I gotta say, writing a K+-rated story is something different for me, and I'm enjoying it. I hope my readers are enjoying it just as much.
Over the next year, Zen's day-to-day life didn't change very much. He continued to spend his days either being homeschooled by his mother, going on foraging trips with his father, or simply playing in the woods with the numerous species of wild Pokemon.
The family might not have had much, but they had enough to live comfortable, even if modest, lives. And they had each other, which was the most important part. It wasn't a perfect life, but who could ask for more?
Some nights, however, were unpleasant. Every so often, when Zen woke in the morning, he would need to remind himself that it had just been a dream, no matter how hard it may have been to believe that.
Most of the dreams involved the sound of something popping, like a bullet being discharged from a chamber. It didn't take an adult to know what that sound was.
When Zen would ask his mother about it, she would invariably reply that it was nothing to be concerned about. That in these woods, he was safe from hunters.
But he didn't believe it for a second. Whenever there was a loud noise in their home, even if it was just a plate being set on the dinner table, the young Riolu would flinch. It was an instinct he'd gained from hearing his parents' conversation in his fever dreams.
A year after this fever dream, however, the day the three of them had been dreading arrived.
The day started unremarkably. After a good night's sleep, Zen woke up and headed into the kitchen, where Raine had been cooking pancakes on their griddle. (The family was in good standing with the nearby village, so they were permitted to shop from its general store; that is how they fed themselves.)
"Are you excited to play in the woods again today, Zen?" his mother asked him, smiling.
"Of course!" the Riolu boy exclaimed, his tail wagging. It never got old.
Little did he know, he wouldn't be doing much playing that day. In fact, he wouldn't be in the mood to play for quite some time.
As the three of them were eating breakfast, there was a gentle chirping from just outside the cave. Both parents and child knew what that chirping heralded: The delivery of the village newspaper by the Rowlet post.
Nathaniel collected the letter from the doorway, then returned to the dining table, where his wife and son were waiting intently to hear the news. Even if they weren't residents of the village, it was still relevant to them.
Zen's tail wagged more; he couldn't wait to hear about what was happening outside their neck of the woods. For a six-year-old, he liked to stay informed as much as possible.
Something was different today. For one, rather than the newspaper, his father held a small envelope in his paws. Also, he was frowning rather than smiling. Raine also looked in on the paper, and she, too, appeared worried.
"This isn't good news, Zen" he said, curtly but softly.
The Riolu boy's heart dropped like a freight elevator whose chains had been cut. He was on the edge of his seat now, but not in a good way.
Raine turned toward her husband. "Are you sure he needs to know this?"
"I might only be six, but I still think I should know the truth!" Zen bellowed. "Just tell me!"
"Fair enough," Nathaniel sighed. "I knew this was coming. I just didn't expect it so soon. Zen, you're being hunted."
Uh, I already knew that.
"Not only are you being hunted, but they're looking for you a lot more actively. They know where you live, where we all live, so it's no use hiding."
If the day had started as crystal, it had turned into broken glass. Zen could hardly breathe as he processed this news.
"So…I have to escape?" the Riolu boy mouthed. It just couldn't be happening. Not like this.
Nathaniel nodded. "I'm afraid there is no other choice. In a perfect world we'd run away with you, but…".
"Wait, you can't? But, Mom and Dad, you two promised you'd always be with me. And now you're breaking that promise!"
Raine got down on one knee and gave her son a sad smile. Her eyes, however, appeared almost happy.
"We'll always be with you, Zen. As soon as you're safe, somewhere the poachers can't get you, we will find you again. But right now, you have to get out of here. You need to reach safety."
Something about that statement sounded ominous, almost hopeless, but the Riolu boy didn't give that aspect of it too much thought. He was far more focused on trying to squeeze as much as possible out of whatever time he had left in the cave.
"When do I have to leave?" Zen asked.
Nathaniel sighed. "As soon as possible. The hunters will be arriving later today, and they know you're here. If they attack while you're here, you will not survive."
You will not survive. Those words chilled Zen to the bone; the thought of not being around any longer to enjoy the forest upset him even more than he liked to admit.
Raine frowned. "Honey, you're scaring him."
"Good! He should be scared! I'm scared! We need to get Zen to safety, and that won't happen if he doesn't know what they want to do to him!"
"But you can calm down a bit more, Nathaniel. We shouldn't traumatize him too much."
"Mom, Dad, you both know I'm still here, right?" Zen replied. "Can't you have this talk away from me?"
Nathaniel looked down at his son apologetically.
"You're right, Zen. I didn't need to yell. But we both need to impress upon you just how serious this situation is. If they find you…". He didn't need to finish that sentence.
"I get it, Dad. If the hunters find me, I'm dead. So I have to get somewhere that won't happen. But where?"
"I'd assume you need to head out of the sanctuary, so just keep making your way in a straight line outside of the cave. And we'll find you once the threat is gone, and then we'll be a happy family once again."
The way his father spoke, it sounded more as though he were trying to convince himself that things would be okay. Any attempts to make Zen believe that were secondary.
Zen looked at his mother, casting his eyes about for any sign that she'd contradict her husband. Was there any reason to think that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't being hunted?
Sadly, Raine did not shake her head. Instead, she nodded, a grave expression on her face.
"I wish I could tell you he's wrong, Zen. I really do. But like your father said, I knew that this would happen. I just didn't know it would happen now; I'd hoped they would at least wait until you'd evolved."
Nathaniel sighed again. "Well, I think the time has come. You don't need a backpack, the edge of the sanctuary isn't that far away. You can probably find someone to take you in there, but…".
Just then, there was a rather familiar sound just outside the cave's entrance. It was rather loud and hollow, just like the sound that haunted Zen's dreams on occasion.
It was a gunshot.
If Zen had been holding onto the last vestiges of childhood innocence right then, they had just slipped through his fingers. There was no longer any reason to pretend that things would ever be the same again.
More urgently…
"Run, Zen!" his mother exclaimed. "They're just outside the cave! I don't think you can hide anymore!"
I'm going to run like my life depends on it. Because it does.
Heartache ran through the Riolu boy's body. He'd known that someday, he would strike out on his own, of course; all Pokemon did. But he'd always envisioned that day as being one of celebration, and that it wouldn't have to be so sudden.
Alas, that was not to be.
"Goodbye, Mom. Goodbye, Dad. I love you both" Zen said solemnly. "I wish…I wish…".
"That it didn't have to be this way?" Raine replied. "Yes, I know. But we'll always be with you, one way or another. Now, run! We can take him!"
In years to come, Zen would never quite understand how his mother sounded so confident in that moment. Nonetheless, he didn't need to be told any more times. He sprinted out of the cave, not looking back.
Just yesterday, the Riolu boy had skipped around happily in the forest. It had been a tranquil place of pleasure, one where it felt like anything was possible.
But not anymore. Now, it was a potential death trap. Wherever he looked, there might be a poacher waiting to strike him down. And if that happened, all possibility would be taken from him in an instant.
"I saw him! Where is he?"
A deep, caustic male voice bellowed out those words, which made the Riolu boy shiver. If he'd been seen, it wouldn't be very long before even a moderately skilled marksman would have been able to kill him.
Zen ran as fast as his short legs would carry him. He sprinted until there was a stitch in his side, desperate to put as much distance as possible between himself and his enemies.
An hour later, Zen was soaked in sweat, short of breath, and still hadn't reached the edge of the sanctuary. His father had told him it wasn't terribly far, but maybe he'd only been saying that to motivate his son.
I might never see my father again, the Riolu boy thought wistfully as he looked over at a nearby stream. He made his way slowly to the bank of the stream and leaned over in order to take a drink.
As Zen lapped up water, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. This forest wasn't as tranquil as it had seemed yesterday, that's for sure.
Once the young Riolu had drunk his fill from the stream, he looked around for anyone who might be stalking him. It might not have been a wise move, of course; he would have been better suited by resuming his sprint. But he was still morbidly curious, with an emphasis on morbidly.
Just then, there was another gunshot, causing Zen to flinch.
It was just like what had happened over the last year when one of his parents would drop a dish, but this time, the danger was real. The hunters had arrived.
A tall, skinny, mustached man stepped out from behind a bush. In his arms, he carried a rifle.
"Ah, so this is the golden Riolu we've heard about! Not to worry, we'll make it quick, but your parents weren't so lucky!"
So he DID kill them.
A wide range of emotions ran through Zen at that moment, none of them good. He didn't have time to process the implications of what this man was telling him, though, because there was the sound of the rifle being reloaded.
"Daddy screamed real good before he died!" the hunter exclaimed. "And Mommy tried to protect her hubby, but that didn't matter. They're both going to make excellent additions to our trophy collection."
Zen realized what this meant. His parents' fur coats were going to be hung up at some hunting lodge somewhere, displayed just like trophies. To this hunter, it was a symbol of pride to have killed a Shiny Riolu like him, rather than a shameful, depraved deed that would weigh on their conscience forevermore.
There was another gunshot, but Zen acted quickly, jumping out of the way. Then, acting on instinct, he leaped forward at the hunter, trying to disable him any way he could. All he cared about was causing this man pain, because the hunter had caused Zen's parents such pain.
"You killed my parents," the Riolu breathed, kicking the man in the groin. "Why is that?"
Of course, the man had explained why already. It just wasn't a satisfying reason; how could it ever be acceptable to orphan someone like him?
"I would say that you'll understand", the man replied, "but you won't understand, because you'll be dead. Now, hold still and let me shoot you."
Zen, who had latched onto the hunter's shoulders, managed to kick him in the groin again. This time, the young Riolu had clearly managed to inflict some serious pain.
Now's my chance!, Zen thought. I can get away!
He didn't hesitate; he extricated his body from the hunter's, and ran as quickly as he could. Within seconds, he realized something.
The hunter probably expects me to continue in a straight line, so I won't. I'm going to turn left.
Given the speed at which Zen was moving, exhaustion didn't take long to set in. It wasn't more than a few minutes before he could no longer lift his feet up as high as he'd been doing, simply because he didn't have the energy to.
This, of course, came with its own hazards. The Riolu boy felt his toe catch on a tree root, sending him flying through the air until he landed hard on his knees.
Pain exploded through his legs. Zen grimaced, hoping that nothing was broken. Escape from the sanctuary was paramount, no matter the cost.
One might think that, with the advent of significant physical pain, the emotional pain Zen experienced would have lessened. One might believe that it would serve as a distraction from all the anguish. But they'd be wrong.
Rather, the Riolu boy couldn't help but dwell on how he'd failed his parents. No matter how hard he tried not to, Zen kept picturing his father's concerned face upon his reading the paper that morning. It would probably never leave his mind.
And now they're gone. I couldn't save them, and now I'm probably going to die in vain. On the bright side, we won't be apart for long, assuming there is a heaven the way Mom said.
No! I can't think that way! I need to run!
Although he was still in pain, adrenaline kicked in rather abruptly, and the young Riolu stood back to his full height. Then, he kept moving, although his pace was slowed from a sprint to a weak jog.
A stitch formed in his side. It became harder and harder to breathe, both from the exertion and from the aches making themselves known in his legs. He was incredibly tired, but he wouldn't give up.
Zen wasn't sure how much time passed after that, but it could certainly be measured in hours. The young Riolu's body grew increasingly fatigued, and all he really wanted to do was lie down and sleep. Of course, if he did that, he might never get going again.
All he knew was that, after an arduous jog through the woods, Zen came across a rather modest farmhouse. It wasn't anything too fancy, but if it provided refuge from the no-longer-great outdoors, he would take it.
Is it really a good idea to go near this house? It might be where the hunters live!
Regardless, his legs felt like jelly, and his arms ached. He didn't see how he could continue much further, not without resting.
The last things Zen remembered were the following:
He staggered through the yard and onto the house's back porch. Swaying back and forth, he was able to climb the few steps before his knees buckled, and he collapsed.
Just then, the door opened. Although his vision began to darken, Zen was still conscious enough to look up and see who it was.
She was a tall, somewhat skinny lady wearing a light blue shirt. She had long, flowing white-blonde hair and a sad smile.
"Oh no, you poor thing!" the woman exclaimed softly, bending over and picking Zen up off the porch. "Left in the forest to fend for yourself…what happened to your parents?"
The golden Riolu didn't have a chance to speak as a wave of extreme exhaustion crashed over him. Within seconds, after a deep yawn, Zen was asleep in the woman's arms.
Thank you very much to wolfboydude52 for being the first reviewer on this story! I appreciate the feedback, and encourage others to check out his stories. And if you review this chapter, I'll give you guys shout-outs as well in the next one.
Thank you all, and I'll see you guys next time!
