Chapter Eleven

Arric woke to the sound of trickling water. The soft fall of the water sounded distorted and he was not sure if it was as close as he really thought. Had he finally reached the waterfall in his dream? It was still dark, his head swimming as he pulled himself up, using the rock wall behind him to sit himself up. Why was it still so dark? How long had he been sleeping? Licking his lips, he found them cracked and burning, his fur was a tangled mess of dirt, small sticks, his tail matted. With a grunt, he made a move to pull it towards him only to be met with shooting pain up his right leg. Everything ached and as he looked up to the sky, he saw the soft twinkling of stars, the moon poking its face from behind the grey clouds.

Arric groaned. This was no dream. He was still at the bottom of the ravine. The events of the night rushing through his mind, from Volke almost forcing Bree to evolve to his slip off the edge into the ravine. Where was everyone now?

"Hey is anyone out there!"

Arric's voice choked out into a raspy whisper. His throat was dry and sticky and his head pounded. He caressed the back of his skull where it throbbed the most and found his fur coated in something dry and cracking, flaking off into his hands as he pulled at the gummed up pieces of fur. Is this blood? Arric swallowed, his stomach twisted, threatening to make him vomit as he looked down at his leg. In the darkness, he could not see how it looked and as long as he did not move, it did not hurt. He ran his hands carefully over the ankle and up his leg.

Please don't be broken. Please, please, please.

He winced as his hands squeezed just above his ankle. It hurt but not as much as he had expected. Breathing a sigh of relief that it was most likely sprained or slightly fractured, Arric set to focus on his surroundings. Every time he moved his head, the world spun, making him stop before he was sick. He leant his head back, looking back up at the sky, watching the clouds go by. His eyelids fluttered with exhaustion and he willed himself to stay awake.

"Stay awake Arric, you can't fall asleep, you need to find the others, and you need to stop Mas…"

Arric felt himself slip back unconscious, waking to the swirling mist of his dream. For once Arric was pleased to be here. His head was clear and he stood, thankful that he was not hurt in his dream as well. The entities stood before him, the creature nowhere in sight but Arric knew that it would not be long before he had to face him again and it made him shudder with fear. The tree and waterfall beckoned to him and he had to resist the thirst building up inside when he noticed the new entity between them. A dark sphere like the ice sphere floated just off the ground. It was larger than Arric, the surface from what Arric could see was smooth and reflective. It crackled with electricity, sparks shooting around the sphere in bolts of lightning, the sound of the bolts crackled in his ears and the more he stared at the sphere, the more he felt energized, his fur fluffing out in static and the need to touch the sphere raged inside him.

Arric pulled himself away, focusing on the stone floor beneath him. His breathing heavy and he closed his eyes, trying to focus on the darkness around him, trying to ignore the pull of each entity. They all called to him, willing him to them but at the same time, the thought of going near any of them terrified him. Was he cursed to be tortured by these entities one by one? What did they want? What was he supposed to do?

Cradling his head in his hands he crouched down, gripping the fur on his face he willed to wake up. Give me the pain, I don't care, I don't want to be here! Make it stop! A crackle of thunder made him spring up in surprise. The dark sphere was suddenly alive, the bolts of lightning ripped across its surface like fire. The air felt heavy, the mist thickening, the sparks from the sphere danced across the mist towards him, surrounding him in a cloud of electricity. His fur sparked with static as he started to scream, trying to brush off the sparks that flittered across his fur, jolting him. The sphere thundered again, lighting up the darkness in a bright flash of light, electricity arcing around it, building up until it burst, a large bolt of lightning raced towards Arric. He flung his arms in front of him, feeling the bolt hit him, searing pain shooting through him before everything turned dark.

Arric woke to tremendous pain in his leg. Screaming in agony, he gripped his leg it felt hot to the touch and had swelled to nearly twice the size it was before. It was a while before the pain had boiled down enough to a dull ache but the swelling remained. Arric knew he was in trouble. He could not wait for someone to find him. Gritting his teeth, he grasped the wall behind him and pulled himself painfully to his feet, keeping off his right foot. Panting Arric took in his surroundings now that sunlight was streaming into the ravine.

"How long was I out?"

Looking up at the sky, he could guess it was close to noon. The sun was already making the ravine stuffy and hot, Arric's throat burned; licking his lips, he winced at the pain of his cracked lips. The trickling of water caught his ears and he whipped his head towards it. Water was slowly trickling down the wall of the ravine in several places and he stumbled towards the closest one. Pressing his hands against the wall to capture the water, bringing it to his lips repeatedly until he fell forwards and hugged his face to the wall, lapping up the cool water with his tongue until he quenched his thirst and calmed his throat.

Wiping the water from his chin, Arric surveyed the walls of the ravine for a way up. It was fruitless; there was no way he was going to be able to climb up on his own, let alone with his busted leg. He looked towards the passageway; it was large enough for him to walk through but for how long? Where did it even lead? Arric searched the ground for something sturdy to lean on. He found a stick thick enough to bear his weight and leaned on it, using it to hobble along the passageway of the ravine. The top of the ravine closed off in sections, making short tunnels, the stone walls twisted and jagged like teeth, scraping at him if he stumbled or had to squeeze through a hole. His leg burned, he was thirsty again, his stomach growled and it was getting dark.

Arric finally decided to stop in a small alcove that sheltered him from the night air. He drank from a small pool that had collected from water falling above. I must be near the river still if there is still water falling from the sides. Arric slid down against the wall, setting his stick on the ground beside him. He rubbed his leg, wincing as he massaged the swelling until it no longer gripped him in pain and was back to a dull ache. What I wouldn't give for one of Quin's balms now.

His heart dropped at the mention of his friend. Where were they now? Had they escaped the Jolteon? Were they looking for him? Was Master Volke really going to force them all into evolving to Jolteon? He asked Hannah to get them to pledge Jolteon but that was no different from what everyone else had been doing. Arric leant against the wall deep in thought. If Master Volke was going to force them, then this whole Evolution Ritual was for nothing. The Tribe Leaders had agreed to this Evolution Ritual and yet Master Volke was going to change us anyway. Was this his plan all along? What was Hannah thinking?

Arric rubbed his face in frustration. He had to find his friends, Tak and Hannah would surely know more. What was going to happen to them now? Arric's stomach dropped when he remembered tackling Master Volke. He had attacked a Tribe Leader. Arric stared at his hands in the fading light. Punishment for attacking a Tribe Leader was exile. I don't even properly belong in the Flareon Tribe and I'm already exiled. At this rate, I'll be stuck as an Eevee forever.

Arric sighed, dropping his hands to his lap. He was exhausted but he did not want to sleep. He did not want to dream; he did not want to be awake. He felt emptiness gnawing inside him and he was scared. Scared of his future, scared for his friends and terrified that he was never going to get out of this ravine in time to find his friends and make the Evolution Ritual. He had to tell the Tribe Leaders what Master Volke had done, that the Jolteon were hunting him. Arric's eyes fluttered as he fought sleep. His thoughts swirled in his head as he nodded off to sleep.

Again, Arric awoke to the burning pain in his leg. Tears pricked the corner of his eyes as he massaged the swelling down enough that it was tolerable but he knew this would not last long if he did not find help. Streaks of light poked their way through the holes in the ceiling of the alcove, telling him it was morning. He drank from the pool again, wishing he had his bag with his canteen in it. He felt weak from hunger and exhausted from the pain. Steeling himself, he picked up his stick and hauled himself up, willing himself forward through the endless tunnel of the ravine, keeping a lookout for any way out, a small incline up or even some vines he could somehow haul himself out of the ravine.

He was making steady progress when he tripped over a stone and fell forward onto his face. His leg felt like it was on fire and he screamed in agony, pushing his nose in the dirt to wait until the pain subsided, taking deep breaths between muffled screams. Tears streamed down his cheeks, he wanted to go home. His friends' faces flashed through his mind but he pushed them aside. He was going to lay here and forget about everything; perhaps he would slip into unconsciousness again and finally stay there. The darkness looked welcoming and he could walk towards each entity until one day he could finally touch the trunk of the tree or drink from the cool waterfall.

His chest racked with sobs as the pain finally subsided and he rolled onto his back, looking up at the edges of the ravine. He could see the trees lining the edges, fruit swaying gently in the breeze and Arric snorted. Of course, there was food and he could not even reach it. He covered his eyes with his hands, screaming his frustrations to the sky, "Somebody help me!"

He listened to the fading echoes of his voice travel down the ravine. It was a small comfort; it almost felt like he was not alone anymore. He felt a wave of exhaustion sweep over him and this time he did not care if he did not wake up this time. As his eyes dropped, he watched the leaves sway in the trees at the edge and as his eyes closed, he swore he saw a face poke over the edge, bright eyes peering down at him.