Okay before I say anything else this continues right from where last chapter ended. It still follows Gray's back story. Another thing I need to say is that this is a very long chapter, just as long as the last if not longer by a little (But their is a decent spot you can stop at half way through, if you want to stop then you'll see your chance lol) If these chapters are getting to be to long please for the love of Mew tell me. I'm just making these chapters long because I want to fit Gray's story into three chapters, it may run onto four if I can't make all fit without rushing.
Okay onto a important question. When I started writing this flashback I realized it was impossible to really make the characters in it relatable without having +10 chapters to develop the characters... (And I'm not doing that for flash back characters, or at least not a lot) So I thought it'd be cool if I made a small spin off series on how Gray met Aaron and Eclipse and how their friendship formed as they join WPA. I pondered it for awhile and I realized that if I did it right it would actually be cool and may offer more detail on Gray and his role and maybe some small clues to the main story along with something cool I had planned for it that links the stories together that would make it worth reading both. (But I'd still keep it optional and fill in the blanks so you wouldn't have to read both)
If I did do it I would make it so you wouldn't have to read both stories to get the plot of both stories but instead expand the character and the lore. So I'm still considering whether I want to make that or not and if people would be interested in reading it I'd love to write it. So message me if you'd like to see a spin off for Gray. It'd only be 10 to 20 chapters and I'd still at least update Black Dawn twice a week as I promised when I started. (My summer starts tomorrow so I'll have more time to write and I love writing its a good way for me to enjoy my spare time and relieve some stress as well as a good thing to do instead of homework...)
Anyways sorry for the long author note I wont keep you waiting any longer.
Chapter 48: The Gulag
Point of View Gray, eight years ago
My eyes slowly creaked open as I listened to what sounded like an engine running. After a few seconds of me slowly trying to wake up I felt a giant bump and that instantly woke me up. I couldn't see much everything was dark and hazy. It took me a few seconds but I realized I was in the back of a vehicle, but where am I being taken was my only question. After a few seconds my eyes slowly adapted to the dark area around me and I began to make out figures sitting near me. I tried to get up but the instant I moved slightly I felt something holding me in place from my neck. I tried moving a little bit but I couldn't even move a few inches, whoever did this had my neck completely tied up to the wall I was against.
Before I could pounder too much about what was going on memories of what happened began flashing back into my mind. I couldn't believe what just happened, it all just happened so fast. Was I the only one or did the others make it out okay without me? Or was everyone dead… I knew a few of them where dead and it still hasn't clicked in my head that I'd never speak or talk to them again. I felt horrible that this happened and I wanted justice.
"Hey Absol are you awake" I heard a voice whisper from the darkness. I nearly jumped upon hearing the unfamiliar voice from the darkness yet I was glad to know someone else was it me.
"W-Who's their" I asked curiously as I squinted my eyes to make out the character.
"Another prisoner just like you now" the voice replied in angst.
"Where are we going and where are my friends" I asked eagerly as I tried looking around through the dimness for anyone I knew.
"Your Flareon friend here is unconscious at the moment… he looks pretty rough" the voice whispered back to my cautiously. He only mentioned Aaron what about Sarah? I knew she was still alive before I went unconscious. My heart instantly hit rock bottom as I thought about those bastards killing her as she was defenseless and scared.
I completely forgot about Aaron's injury and how that riolu cut off his arm like it was nothing. Aaron shouldn't even be alive at this point and I needed to make sure personally that he was okay. "Where is Aaron" I asked anxiously.
"Keep your voice down" the voice whispered back in anger "Where not allowed to talk."
"Where's my flareon friend" I asked back in a slightly more quiet voice.
"He's right next to me, he looks really rough and the whole time he's been groaning in pain" the voice replied back from the darkness. The vehicle we were in the slowed down and the back of the vehicle got even darker than before and the ride became very bumpy. Every time the vehicle bumped I could feel the thing holding me down by the neck choking me and it was almost unbearable. After a few seconds of almost choking to death the vehicle almost instantly stopped and my neck was tugged on very aggressively by the contraption holding me down.
The back of the vehicle then opened and a very bright light shined inside the vehicle that blinded me instantly, the light appeared to be from a LED flashlight. "Alright where going to release you all one at a time, anyone who tries anything funny will be killed on sight" a deep voice yelled inside the vehicle as I heard someone hop in. My eyes adjusted to the light and I could make out every pokemon that was around me. My sight almost instantly froze as I saw Aaron lying on the ground unconscious.
"Aaron" I whispered to the flareon who didn't even show a sign of life "Aaron" I whispered again but louder. "Aaron wake up" I said out loud in hopes that he would at least move a little from hearing my voice.
"Stop talking now" A voice yelled aggressively at me. I was about to yell back at the voice but right before that happened I saw Aaron's eyes moving around from the back of his eyelids and his eyes slowly cracked open. Aaron looked around with very dazed eyes and I could only imagine he was just confused as me.
"Shhh don't say anything flareon, don't resist and just go with it" a sneasel whispered to Aaron and that's when I realized he was the pokemon I've been talking to this whole time. Aaron just continued to take in his observations around him until his eyes locked on me.
"Gray" he moaned in a weak voice.
"I said stop talking" A voice boomed from the back of the truck. I quickly shot my glare back there to see a servine undoing a cubone's lock so he or she could get the collar like thing off his or her neck. The servile then grabbed the cubone and forced him to his feet and shoved him towards the back of the truck. Why are we just sitting here taking this crap, there is one of him and at least a dozen of us.
"Hey sneasel" I whispered as quietly as I could to the dark type. He looked back at me and waited for me to continue. "What exactly is stopping us from fighting back, is he the only one or something" I whispered as quietly as possible since I didn't want to upset our captor.
The sneasel just responded by looking to the complete opposite side of our prison which was in the front. Their covered in bruises and their own blood was a vulpix. The pokemon had swollen eyes along with some cuts and her arm appeared to be in an awkward position I didn't think was natural. The vulpix wasn't a pretty sight to look at and If the sneasel was hinting that the vulpix pissed them off then I could see why no one wanted to follow the vulpix's footsteps.
After a few pokemon were released it was my turn. The servine shoved a key into the keyhole of the collar that held me down and it came undone and I was somewhat free. Before I could enjoy having my neck movement back the servine grabbed me and forced me to my feet and gave me an aggressive shove that almost caused me to lose my balance. I was tempted to fight back, but if I was going to do that I was going to need a better look at what I was up against.
Once I reached the exit of the vehicle I jumped out and I landed on a hard rocky ground that was cold. It appeared we were in some kind of cave. Everything was pitch black and the only light we had was some flood lights that were pointing at the back of the truck. I quickly scanned the area around me for some more pokemon that were holding us hostage.
On each side of the truck we were in their was a pokemon and then standing behind the group of hostages that exited the vehicle was a golem that looked pretty intimidating. I looked back into the truck and I saw that it was Aaron's turn to be released. The collar was released and the servine picked up the flareon and he stood on his three wobble paws. Then the servine gave him a hard shove. Aaron took his first step with his right paw that was still intact but right when he tried using the left paw that no longer existed he fell straight on the ground. Aaron tried struggling up but he was too weak to even move. The servine noticed his struggle and walked over to him. I thought he was going to give Aaron a hand but I should have known better. Aaron was picked up by the servine and he was tossed right out of the vehicle. Aaron let out a loud gasp as he made contact with the hard rock ground.
I ran over to his aid. Aaron was now gasping in pain and I wish there was something I could do to help him but the truth was there was nothing I could do but watch him suffer. The guards around us all stared at me and Aaron as If they were not pleased with us at all.
Before anything else could happen the sneasel from before walked up to Aaron and kneeled down "You need to move buddy, if you show weakness here you'll never survive" the sneasel whispered to Aaron in a gentle voice as he helped him up and gave him support on the side with the missing arm. I followed next to the sneasel and I was pretty happy to see someone at least showing a little compassion.
"Thanks we appreciate your help" I said to the sneasel.
"Everyone needs to look out for each other here" the sneasel said as he helped Aaron towards the main group.
"W-Where are we" Aaron groaned in a faint voice.
"This place goes by many names, the gulag, the pit or my personal favorite Hell" the sneasel said and the world around me instantly felt more silent even though nothing really changed.
"Why are we here" I asked the sneasel.
"Listen you two are new here so I'll fill you in on everything I can, but before that my name is Dom" the sneasel said as we finally reached the group and he lied Aaron down on the ground gently.
"I'm Grayson but people call me Gray and he's Aaron" I said as I introduced us.
"Good but the first thing I'd like to tell you is that all that shit in the real world doesn't apply here. This isn't a democracy we get no say" the sneasel said and both Aaron and I looked at the sneasel. "You do anything to upset those keeping us here and you'll have two things happen. Death or brutal punishment that makes death seem like the only escape." My heart instantly plunged to a new low.
"Why… what do they want from us" Aaron groaned from the ground in a pained voice.
"Down here were all slaves. They tell you to do something you do it, you ask a question or look at them funny and you'll regret it" the sneasel said.
"So why don't we take action" I whispered to him.
"Shh keep that kind of talk down" the sneasel said as he grabbed my mouth and held it shut.
"Well why can't we" I asked again. The sneasel then pointed to a collar on his neck. It was black and almost blended in with his fur, but on the back I saw a big box that had a flashy orange light on it.
"What is that" I asked him.
"Shock collar" he bluntly stated "You pass a certain it electrocutes you, if you fight back they just push a button and you'll be on the ground crying" the sneasel said.
Well this was going great. The more and more I learned about this place the more I realized how screwed we were. The real question is what our next move because there is no way I'm working for these bastards for a day.
"Alright everyone get in a line" the servine" commanded. Everyone began sluggishly moving into a line "Come on move it" the servine yelled aggressively at us. After he yelled at everyone they all made haste into a line. Aaron was standing in the line as well but the sneasel didn't help him and he was left standing on his own.
"Now follow my lead, no funny business" the servine yelled. We all followed the servine deeper into the cave and as we went on the cave got narrower. The other guards followed from behind and left no open spots for anyone to slip away.
After we slipped through the narrow cave for a few minutes I started hearing an odd sound. It sounded like people were mining. I could hear rocks breaking as pickaxes smashed them. Then the cave expanded and we ended up in a ginormous opening. Here there was a bunch of barrel and crated stacked up neatly and off towards the cave wall on the opposite side I saw a tunnel with a railroad track. The tunnel also was the source of the sound, before we could enter the opening though we had to enter a wired fence. The fence blocked the entrance one-hundred percent. The servine walked up to the fance and unlocked a door on it so we could all slip through. We all filed in one by one into the opening.
"Everyone gather in the middle in a big line and wait their" the servine yelled. We all did as we were told as the servine locked the gate behind us. Then the sneasel walked back up to Aaron and started helping him again.
"Sorry he wouldn't of allowed me to help you back their" he whispered to Aaron. "Oh and stay away from the fence it's electrified" the sneasel warned us, which was good because I would not have known better.
Off in the opposite direction of the tunnel where I heard the mining there was a wooden watchtower that touched the ceiling of the cave, which was only around thirty feet high. Which I guess that is pretty big for a cave. Next to the watch tower there was also a few other small wooden structures. One had a window with a light in it and another had no windows at all with a door with a big lock on it.
"Okay listen up" I heard another voice yell out. This voice was a lot deeper and very similar to a drill sergeant. The voice that barked the commands was an old Infernape that was covered in scars all around. Everyone directed their attention to him and didn't even speak a word of defiance.
"So your all fresh bloods, maybe some of you are transfers from our other facility
the Infernape stated. "Regardless I don't care" he continued to say.
"Now I'll be in charge of your work group. Anything you need or want you will come to me and ask. If you dare waste my time I will break both of your worthless legs and make you run miles while carrying me on your back" the Infernape threatened. This monkey was pretty scary honestly, the way he yelled things and looked at us made my stomach get knots.
"Now I'll start with the rules, rule number one do not make me repeat the rules again or you will be physically punished" the Infernape threatened us again. I was curious about how serious he actually was about doing the things he said, but in no way did I want to test those waters.
"Rule number two" he barked at us. "Every first and last word out of your worthless mouth's will begin and end in sir."
"Rule number three you must wear your collar's at all times no matter what, if you take it off you will be punished severely or killed on the spot" the Infernape said as he looked at all of our faces. The Infernape then pulled out a collar to show us what it looked like. It looked the same as Dom's collar it was thing and black and had a box on the back with a flashy orange light.
"Now if you try to escape with this collar you will be shocked until you return to the safe zone, or if one of us higher ups feels like it we can activate the collar at any time" He said as he pulled out a remote with a red button on it.
"You will all be assigned a partner who has experience with their job, this lucky bastard gets the honor of teaching you your job. Orders for stuff like food and sleep will be given as they come, just follow your buddy and they'll carry you through your day."
"Now is there any questions?" the Infernape asked us as he looked at each and every single one of us. His eyes instantly froze when he saw Aaron barely standing on his wobble feet. The dictator then walked up to Aaron and everyone around him backed away and left Aaron all alone.
"What the hell is a cripple like you doing in here" The Infernape asked Aaron. Aaron's eyes instantly flicked with fire as those words hit his ears. Aaron was now grinding his teeth together as he struggled not to make a mistake that he'd regret.
"I asked you a question, why the hell did they take a three legged loser like you, are we that low on workers?"
Aaron's stopped gritting his teeth and he looked to the ground as if he was no longer the same and unequal to the rest to us "I… I don't even know why I'm here" Aaron said in utter disappointment "Sir" he quickly added in before the monkey noticed.
"I'll give you a week before you drop dead and don't think just because you're different you get to slack off." I was hardly able to control my own anger as I fought off a growl. I couldn't imagine what Aaron was going through right now because I could hardly stand watching him being torn apart for something he couldn't help.
Before the Infernape could discriminate Aaron anymore a group of workers came walking out of the tunnel. They were filled with a variety of pokemon, to many to name. All of them and I mean all of them were covered in dirt and wore exhausted looks on their faces.
"Okay everyone pick a partner with one of the veteran workers" the Infernape commanded. "Except you three legs fire types have a different job" the Infernape said as he signaled him to come towards him. Aaron complied and walked to the baboon.
"I'll partner up with you" Dom said to me.
"Sure" I said not knowing if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
"Put this on" Dom said as he held out my collar. I eyeballed it for a second as I dreaded the thought of having such a bulky thing on my neck all the time.
"I'll help you since you have no thumbs" he said as he wrapped it around my neck without my approval and snapped both ends of the collar around my neck. Once the two pieces were connected it made a beep noise and the light on the back of the collar lit up. I moved my neck around and my fears became reality, this thing was uncomfortable and restrained the neck.
After everyone found a partner we all lined back up again. "Alright show your partners how to do their job and if you catch them slacking be sure to beat them mercilessly for me" the monkey said with a laugh. Dom grabbed me by the shoulder and directed me towards our work. I looked back towards Aaron who was the only fire type with us and was also the only one ordered to go with him.
'Mew please let him be safe' I prayed to the legendary who's never answered me once. We entered the tunnel where I heard all the mining from. It was dark in here and the only light we had was the very few lanterns on the ceiling. It was also dry and stuffy down here and made it very uncomfortable for anything to live down here. As I got deeper and deeper I saw pokemon with pickaxes hitting the wall of the tunnel slowly expanding the cave. In the middle of the cave was a railroad.
"Alright your quadruped so your job is pretty simple actually" Dom broke my thought of how sucky this place was.
"And my job is" I asked.
"Since were constantly digging around all of this rubble has to go somewhere. So my job is to fill up the card with Rocks and stuff and you'll pull it out of here and we have a spot you'll dump it and we'll dispose of it at the end of the day" Dom educated me on my job.
"So I'll show you were to put it and after that you'll just repeat the cycle until we eat or sleep" Dom said.
"Okay" I said in disappointment of how annoying this was already becoming. How did I get stuck here and why me? I have always led a good life and this is what I get, Slavery?
I followed Dom to a really big train cart that was full of rocks of all sizes. On the front of the cart had some chains and some kind of locking device to secure something to the chains. "Alright I'll put this on you so you can pull it, I'll show you the path to take this time but after that I got to do my own job" the sneasel said. Dom gave me a small push towards the cart and I stood next to the chains. The sneasel picked up the chains and wrapped it around my chest and put a padlock on the chains so it wouldn't fall off me.
"This is degrading" I complained as I thought of how humiliating this was.
"Now pull the cart" the sneasel said ignoring my complaint. I walked forwards and attempted to pull the huge cart that was filled to the brim with rocks. The instant I felt resistance from the cart I had to strain every muscle in my body just to keep the cart slowly moving. It was exhausting just barely moving it and there was no way I was going to make it ten meters like this. I slowly dragged the cart as it made a screeching noise along the tracks at a very slow paste as every muscle in my body screamed for a rest.
"Come on if you keep going this slow your going to get in severe trouble" the sneasel said as he followed by my side. I listened to what he said and I went into overdrive and began pulling with every fiber in my body. I could feel sweat dripping down my face and my body began to overheat in these stuffy conditions. It was already blazing hot down here but now I felt like I was going to die.
After a while the tracks split off into a separate tunnel and I continued to drag the rock filled cart down the tunnel. After around ten minutes of dragging the cart I finally reached the end. We were in another big opening and in this opening there was a giant a bunch of trucks that were being loaded with the rocks.
"Okay now someone will help you dump it into the pile and you run back to me and I'll have a separate cart ready and you'll repeat the cycle until our break" Dom said as he tipped the cart over and all the rocks poured out into a gigantic pile of rocks.
"Now let's go back" Dom suggested. I was curious how I was supposed to move the card backwards since the chains were attached to the front but that when I noticed a track on the cart that allow me to move the chains around the whole circumference of the cart. So I slid the chain the opposite side and I began pulling the cart back to the start.
Once we reached where we originally were I was greeted by another cart that was filled with rocks to the top. Dom quickly detached the chains off me and hooked me up to the other cart as the other workers began to slowly fill the new cart.
"I recommend staying ahead of the game, don't let the carts fill up to high or you'll have a fun time filling them" Dom suggested.
With those words of wisdom I began pulling the new cart on my own this time while my sneasel friend picked up a pickaxe and started mining. I had trouble with the first cart but this second one was worse compared to the first and my muscles being shot up did not help at all. There was no way I could do this, not for the rest of the day let alone as long as they planned on keeping us here. I continued to pull with whatever strength I had left and continued my cycle through hell.
After what felt like an eternity of me working I finished my millionth cycle of work. At this point I lost feeling in my nerves and I couldn't even feel the pain. I was numb everywhere and my throat felt as dry as a desert and I'd probably cry at the sight of some precious water.
Before I could begin pulling the next cart I heard a loud buzzing noise and instantly everyone stopped what they were doing. "Okay Gray good job were on break now" Dom said words I thought I'd never here. Long ago I forgot the concept of rest and I thought I was going to have to go until I dropped dead.
"R-Really" I said in a shaky voice that lacked energy.
"Yeah" he said as he began to unhook the chains off of me. The instant those chains hit the ground I felt a thousand pounds lighter. I finally felt as if I could breathe with ease and not having to worry about a million pound cart chained to me.
"How… How long does our break last" I asked him in an exhausted voice.
"Ten hours" he replied bluntly "And that time is when your supposed to eat and sleep." I couldn't believe this, after all of that I just have time to sleep. No time to talk or enjoy myself a little.
"Follow me" the sneasel said as he began walking. I started moving but the instant I began moving my body fell limp and I was falling. Dom caught me just in time and helped me back up. "Let me give you a hand" he said as he slung my paw over his shoulder and helped support me.
I would have thanked him but all the energy I had was dedicated to staying awake at this point. After we made it out of the mines and into the main part where the entrance was Dom led me towards another cave.
"This is our barracks. You can eat and sleep here. Spend your time wisely though" Dom warned me.
We entered the cave and inside I saw a bunch of pokemon sleeping on the rock hard floor. Some of the pokemon had blankets but their wasn't nowhere near enough to go around. Some pokemon cuddled together and some lied down in isolation with no hope.
Then I spotted Aaron. Throughout all the pain and work I've endured today I've completely forgotten about him and didn't even think about if he was alive. "Aaron" I shouted out in a weak voice. The flareon directed his attention towards me. I would have smiled at him but there wasn't much to smile about and on top of that smiling took too much of the little energy I had left.
"So how was your work" Dom asked Aaron who was now lying on the floor just a tired as me. Once we reached him Dom took my arm off his shoulder and I instantly fell to the ground as my muscles screamed in pain from the punishing they were put through.
"Horrible" he replied bluntly. Aaron then looked at me as I lied on the floor looking at him "Gray are you alright" he asked me in a weak yet concerned voice. I gave a small nod towards him to ease his worry.
"What'd they make you do" I managed to say in a weak voice.
"I was forced to smelt rocks all day using my flamethrower. I've used that attack a lot but no one should use moves like that for so lo-" he was saying before he started coughing uncontrollably. I waited for him to finish up coughing before I was going to reply.
"Yeah my day was no walk in the park either" I responded in a weak voice. We both didn't really have a lot to say, I could tell he was just as worn out as me.
"Gray, Aaron" I heard a familiar voice yell out from behind me. Aaron and I both turned are heads to see who was calling us. I couldn't believe who it was… I thought she was dead this whole time or Mew knows what.
"Sarah" I tried to yell back but all I could manage was a small rasp. The buizel ran to us with tears streaming down her eyes. She instantly tackled me into a hug and upon impact my muscles pulsed with excruciating pain. I didn't care though, I missed her and I was glad to see she was alive even if it was in this hell hole. After Sarah finished hugging me she made her way to Aaron but before she could hug me she froze when she saw Aaron's arm.
"Aaron" she said as her eye watered up again while she looked at where his arm used to be.
"I know…" Aaron replied coldly. Dom appeared to have ditched us all so he could tend to his own business whatever that was.
"I thought you were dead" I said to Sarah and she instantly looked at me.
"I thought I was the only one left, maybe we were brought in separate times" Sarah suggested.
"Maybe" Aaron said.
After a few minutes of us all playing catch up Dom returned with the best thing I could ever wish for in his hands, food and water. The sneasel brought enough for each and every one of us. It was a loaf of bread that was enough to feed the three of us along with a few pokepuff's that looked moldy and old.
"Can I have some" I asked the sneasel.
"No" he instantly replied.
"What you got all that food and your not going to share" I yelled with newfound energy fueled by my hunger.
"Food is scarce for us and this has to last me three days" the sneasel said.
"That has to last you three days" I yelled back in anger. Yeah sure I said the bread could feed the three of us but not last nine meals throughout the course of three days.
"Yeah so go get yours and don't eat it all in one sitting" the sneasel said. He then pointed to a stand where the same servine from before was handing out bread and water to pokemon. Long story I went up and got my bread to last me three days along with everyone else.
We all ate our meal in silence. The bread was stale, the water had a muddy taste to it and I wasn't even going to dare try the pokepuff's. Aaron seemed to be developing a cough or something. Maybe he got a cold in here or something I mean the hygiene here is horrible.
After we all ate I didn't fight my need to sleep anymore and I fell into a deep sleep that I wish I could never come out of. I didn't even care about the rock hard floor or the stuffy atmosphere or the hot temperature. It was just me and my precious sleep time.
The following morning
I woke up to a loud buzzing noise going off that startled me awake and made my heart thump uncontrollably. I didn't get the twelve hours of sleep I usually wanted. Back when I worked for WPA they were pretty easy to schedule with and they let me get the sleep I wanted and I still had time to enjoy a life. Here I barely got time to enjoy even a little sleep.
"Alright Gray lets work" Dom said.
I moved my arm slightly but the instant I did that the muscles nerved throbbed with pain. It was even more soar than yesterday. "I can't do this" I moaned to Dom.
"If you don't work you are going to feel even worse after they punish you" Dom said with a reasonable argument. I slowly got up with aching muscles that screamed in agony. Sarah and Aaron were both now awake as well and standing. Aaron had a weak look on his face and he looked really out of it today. I'm sure I looked the same but he just looked exceptionally awful.
"Come on we have work" Dom said in an annoyed voice as he tugged my fur. I followed the sneasel without any further resistance. Off in the background I could hear Aaron hacking his lungs out, if he was getting sick now was not the time and I just hoped he didn't give me his germs.
Dom and I went to work for the day. Pulling the cart was even worse since my muscles were already in pain but after a while I lost feeling in my nerves again and I continued my day as if I was a mindless zombie with no ambition or hope of freedom.
Three days later
A few days have passed that I have been working tirelessly. I was starting to get used to this constant torment. Right when I was considering an escape plan the other day I watched as four pokemon tried making a run for it and escaping. The pokemon were caught and brought out into the middle of the main opening. There we were forced to watch as they chained the pokemon down and beaten to death without mercy. I still remember the way they screamed and begged for mercy. I didn't know them personally but I'm sure they didn't deserve what happened. So after watching that I realized I was going to have to put more planning into my escape so I didn't end up like them.
Throughout the day's we stayed here Aaron's cough has only gotten worse and his strength was getting weaker and he was developing more symptoms such as dehydration, blazing hot or freezing body temperatures and whenever we did give him water he couldn't keep it down. This was really beginning to bother me and I was starting to wonder if I was going to lose another friend. No matter what I didn't want to Lose Aaron, I've known him all my life and life without him just didn't seem like a life. I said everyone in WPA was like family but out of all I truly felt that way about him. Him and Eclipse…
"What should we do he's only getting worse" Sarah asked as she took a dirty rag we found and dipped it in water and put it on Aarons head as he lied on the ground burning up in a heat flash as he moaned in pain. It was now late at night and we were trying everything we could to comfort him through his suffering. Earlier during our second day I managed to smooth talk a guard into giving us a bandage to put over Aaron's wound that wasn't completely healed. Sadly we didn't have a lot so we had to change it out once a night instead of hourly like most doctors would recommend.
"He need's medicine bad" Sarah added in as I just stared helplessly at my sick friend.
"He won't get any. The guards won't waist it on him, especially since he's already viewed as an unimportant worker with that missing arm" Dom added in.
"Well he's not going to make it through work today like this" I added in with frustration in my tone. I continued to stare at Aaron as he lied on the ground suffering.
"I'll change his bandage with what we have left" Dom offered as he cut the bandage off with his claw. "What the hell" Dom said once the bandage was off.
"What" Sarah and I both said on sync as the sneasel looked at his wound.
"You do realize his wound is infected right" the sneasel said in frustration towards us. Sarah instantly got up and looked at the wound. I observed to and I cringed at the sight. The wound had a pink color that made it look agitated and it was all puffy.
"How was I supposed to know, I've never seen a wound like this before" Sarah replied back at the sneasel.
"Well you want my honest opinion" Dom asked.
"What" I asked the sneasel.
"You friend is dead already. We have no access to medicine and there is no hope of his infection healing and he's already sick beyond our help. He's can't keep food or water down for more than a minute and how in the hell is he going to get through work tomorrow" The sneasel asked. Sarah and I both froze in response. He was right on everything, but I didn't want to think of it… I didn't want to think of Aaron dying… not here of all places.
"I'm still alive you know" Aaron said in such a quiet voice we could hardly hear him.
"Shhh save your energy Aaron" Sarah said in a gentle voice. There had to be something I could do. I wasn't going to sit back and watch him die like this. No matter what I wasn't going to die here and I wasn't going to let him die like this.
"Where can I get medicine" I asked the sneasel.
"You can't. Remember its looked up in the storage" Dom replied in anger.
"Tell me where it is" I growled at him.
"Are you fucking kidding me, don't throw you life away for someone who is already dead" Dom yelled at me.
"Tell me" I yelled back at him.
"Gray…" Aaron moaned in a weak voice. "He's right… Don't do anything for me" Aaron continued to say in a weak voice and after that he let out a violent cough followed by pained groans.
"Bull shit I won't do crap. You'd do it for me and I'm going to do it with or without your help" I yelled back at him.
"You crazy" Dom replied in surprise.
"Tell me."
Dom let out a sigh of annoyance as he looked me dead in the eyes "It's in the small little shack outside of the watch tower."
"Thank you" I replied as I started making my way their without any delay.
"Seriously don't throw your life away" Dom yelled at me.
"Sarah watch Aaron while I'm gone" I commanded.
"Gray are you sure you want to do this" Sarah asked in a concerned voice. I replied with a nod and I started running towards my objective. Once I reached the big opening with the watch tower I scanned the area. No one was in sight which was a good thing. Then when I looked into the watch tower I saw a pokemon keeping watch, but with a little more observation I saw that he was dead asleep.
The coast was clear and I made a run for the small little building outside of the watch tower. Once I reached the door I realized it was locked. I didn't see any other choice so I tackled the wooden door and it fell right over with very little resistance. I walked into the shack and I saw little boxes full of miscellaneous stuff that served no value to me.
I quickly went inside the shack and looked around frantically before someone found me. I then noticed a small table with a variety of medicines. I looked at all the pill containers until I found antibiotics and some wound disinfectant. I opened my mouth wide and but two boxes in my mouth along with the wound disinfectant. My jaw couldn't open any wider if I wanted it to and I could feel the joints tenshion.
I walked towards the exit and that's when all the pill containers and wound disinfectant fell out of my mouth. "Shit" I muttered as I quickly tried to pick it up. Then everything went south as an alarm started going off.
"Oh shit" I said as I looked behind and noticed the camera I never paid attention to. I knew I didn't have any time so I ran out the front door but I stopped there. I then took one of the antibiotics and the wound disinfectant and leaned them against the shack carefully. Then I swept some rubble, dirt and rocks over it and camouflaged the drugs so no one could find it.
I picked up the remaining pill container in my mouth and began running for dear life even though it was pointless. Then I heard a beep from my collar and my whole body jolted with electricity. My muscles tensed up and I release the pill bottle and it fell to the ground and it spilled everywhere around me. I was now on the ground in agonizing pain from the electrical shock from my collar. Then I saw a foot step in front of me. An infernape's foot. It was that infernape that told me all the rules when I first got here. The on the belittled Aaron as well.
"So thought you could make off with some drugs huh" the monkey said as he picked up a pill and crushed it in his hand. "I'm glad you did this, it gives me another chance to show everyone what happens to thieves around here" the monkey said as he let out an obnoxious laugh. The monkey held a remote in his hand and he pointed it at me. When he clicked down on a red button on it I felt another electrical current go through my body and before I knew it I was out cold.
I don't know how long I was out but when I awoke from being shocked to unconsciousness I noticed I was in the middle of the main cave. Everyone that worked in the caves was watching me from a distance, even Aaron who was barely standing and had to be supported by Sarah and Dom.
I tried to move but I quickly realized that I was chained down to the ground completely. I could hardly make any major movements and when I tried to break free it only hurt me.
"So last night this absol here thought it was a good idea to barrow some drugs from us without our permission" The Infernape yelled from behind me. I looked back and saw the baboon looking down at me as he held a whip in one hand and a steel rod in the other.
"Well I've watched this absol for the few days he's been here and I've noticed his spunky spirit and today I'll show you what happens to you when you break the rules" the monkey yelled in anger as he looked down at me as he began to raise the whip that was in one of his hands. I closed my eyes and prayed that this was going to be quick.
To be continued...
Chapter End
Author Note:Yeah so I'm going to leave this off on a cliff hanger. So hang around for the next chapter. Anyways onto the story talk. We got a lot going on with Gray and his flashback. These traffickers are pretty serious about what they do. Now before you say no one is this evil and so on all I got to say is that no people in real life are this fudged up. Look at the Holocaust, Terrorist and bat shit crazy killers lol. Just wanted to justify all the dark and evil stuff in this fic and say that its not quite over the fence yet.
Also if your interested in that spinoff I mentioned PM me or leave a review. If people want that spinoff I'd love to write it. If not I'll still be 50/50 on writing it.
Also thanks to all the reader and those who support the story, this is at least the 48th time I've thank you lol. Then again I say it at the beginning of chapters to sometimes and at the end so maybe... its over 90! (Couldn't resist)