I looked up at the ceiling as I tried to make sense of what was happening. We had returned to the house some time ago. I still had a slight headache, so I just walked upstairs into the room while John talked with his wife, who I now knew as Mary.

The images of my most recent memory flash were still fresh in my mind. I remember being chased through a forest, then cornered by a cliff. The most recent memory was probably triggered by the sight of the cliff overlooking the forest, much like the one in my memory.

The most vivid thing in my memory…was my anger. I did hate Team Rocket, but not with the murderous intent that I had seen in the flash. Then…there was the blood…whose blood was it? Was it my blood? Or was it someone else's? Did I, perhaps in my rage…kill someone? All these questions, and more, were flying around in my head, trying to figure out an answer to.

I was jarred from my thoughts as I heard the door to the room open. I turned to see the wife, Mary, standing in the doorway. I sat up in the bed as she walked in. She seemed to have as much on her mind as I did.

"I'm sorry to bother you but…" She stopped as she tried to figure out what to say next. "John says you've decided to stay…" This seemed to be more of a question then a statement. I just nodded my head yes, which caused her to sigh. I couldn't tell if it was in relief…or worry.

"Is something wrong?"

She tried to avoid eye contact as she answered. "It's just…I'm glad you've decided to stay…but I'm…I'm worried about you."

I was speechless. She had barely known me for a day, and she was worried about me…I didn't know how to respond…

"John told me about what happened at the cliff side. He said you suddenly seemed to be in extreme pain, then refused to talk about it afterwards. If something's wrong…" She stopped, waiting to see how I reacted to this before continuing.

I remained silent for a few minutes before finally answering. "I'm sorry for worrying you. It's just…a lot has happened to me lately, and I'd rather not get you involved."

She seemed to agree with me, as she turned to leave. As she walked from the room, she turned to say, "If you ever get up to talking about it, we're always ready to listen."

You had to admit, she was persistent. As she left, I went back to my thoughts, still trying to find even a single answer. Perhaps I should tell them… If I told them about my dreams, maybe they could help me find the answers to the many questions I still had. But if they couldn't…it may just lead to even more problems…

I pushed that thought from my head as I continued running the many images of my dreams through my head, hoping to maybe find some hidden answer. Time became meaningless as I watched the events of my past, running over and over again.

After what felt like forever, I still hadn't found any meaning to my dreams. I looked up and saw through the window of the room that several hours had passed. The sun was setting, causing the sky to turn a beautiful shade of orange. I needed some air, so I decided to go for a little walk.

Slowly getting up, I walked out of the room and down the stairs. I saw John sitting in the living room, reading his newspaper again. Mary was in the kitchen again, making what I guessed was dinner. She heard me come down the stairs and turned from what she was making.

"Going for a walk?" It's like she could read my mind, which bothered me a little. I quickly answered, "Yes…" Before I walked out the door. I already said that I would stay for another day or so, so she didn't ask me anything further.

The setting sun cast the sky a bright orange. I marvelled at how even the simplest environment out here, looked like something out of a painting. I would love to stay here, were I not currently hiding out from most of the world!

Still marvelling at the beautiful sky, I started to take a walk through the forest. I heard the silent chirping of some nearby Pidgey and the sound of the nocturnal animals starting to stir. I looked up to see a family of Taillow in their nest, getting ready to sleep for the night.

It was at that moment that I once again started to long for a family. John and Mary seemed nice enough…maybe I could stay with them…No. If I stayed with them, the hunters may come back and they could get caught in the crossfire.

I stopped as the sun started to set even farther behind the horizon. I decided to rest for awhile before going back. I found a nice tree and rested underneath it as I stared up at the beautiful scenery. The setting sun started to have a hypnotic effect on me, as my eyes slowly started to droop. I tried to stay awake, but nothing I tried worked and before I knew it, I had fallen fast asleep.

This dream was different then the others. In this one, I wasn't running. Instead, I found myself waking up in a soft bed. I looked around and saw that I was in a big and fancy room.

"Ah…I see you're awake."

I turned to the source of the sound and saw a woman standing by the doorway. Her face seemed to be covered by a veil of shadows, making me unable to see it. I cowered back as I saw her.

"Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you." I was still unsure about her, but right now I needed to find out where I was.

"Where am I?"

"You're in my house. I brought you back here from the forest."

"The forest?"

"Yes. You were passed out in the middle of my forest when I found you. With Pringston's help, I was able to get you back here."

"Pringston?"

To answer my question, she grabbed a Pokeball that had been sitting on the table. Throwing it up into the air, a blast of crimson energy shot forward. Seconds later, the form of a Hariyama appeared next to her.

"This is Pringston. He's the one who carried you here when I found you. What were you doing in the forest anyway?"

"I…I…" I still had no idea who this woman was, and I wasn't about to tell her that I was an escaped experiment of Team Rocket and that I had been running for my life! Which reminded me: Why wasn't she freaking out?

Before I could think of that any further, she spoke up. " If you're wondering why I rescued you, it's because you're not the first Pokemorph to come running through the forest."

I looked up, somewhat shocked. "You've seen others!?!"

"Yes, they come running through here all the time. But you're the first one to have passed out in the forest. What's your name?"

I remained silent for a few moments before answering, "I don't have a name…I was just always refereed to as "Project M36".

"Well…that won't do. You'll need a name…hmmm…" She seemed to be in deep thought for several moments, before speaking again.

"Since I found you in the forest, I think your name should be Silas, meaning "one of the forest".

"Silas…" I repeated the name. It kinda bothered me that she had just named me like I was some kind of pet, but I had gone my whole life without a name…It felt weird to finally have a name, something I could call my own…

"Give it time…" Figuring I needed time to think about it, she stepped out of the room, Pringston in tow. As she left, I once again repeated the name.

"Silas…"

I suddenly bolted awake, for real this time. As I remembered the events of the dream, I looked up to see a sky full of stars. I must have fallen asleep for at least an hour or two. John and Mary must be wondering if I was going to come back or if I had left for good. Not seeing any reason too stay, I got up and started…

I stopped, as the sound of a twig snapping echoed through the silent forest. I remained still for a moment, wondering if it was just my imagination, before I heard it again.

Thoughts started to fly through my head at a hundred mile an hour: Should I run? It could be the hunters. But if it was the hunters…what if they went after John and Mary! I decided to figure out what it was before I decided on my next course of action.

Silently stepping through the rows of trees, I stopped again as I heard another twig snap to my far left. That was soon followed by something I recognised: someone yelling. Changing direction, I headed in the sound of the voices. In a few minutes, the voices started getting louder and louder until…

I hid behind the nearest tree as I saw them in the clearing. It was the hunters all right, and this time, they were armed to the teeth. They all had one or two guns ready, at least. I saw several of them with rows of bullets strapped to their chests, and the others were armed with grenades. To avoid detection, they were travelling on foot and in the dark of night, meaning these guys weren't as stupid as they looked.

"Where is he!" one of them suddenly yelled. I recognised him as the one who had first spotted me in the city. "I told you we should have started looking at the crack of dawn!"

"Quiet." I looked to see a man coming from behind the trees, a Houndour following right behind him. Sweat started to roll down my face as I recognised him as the one that had fired the armour piercing round into my shoulder.

"Why should I! That freak could be hundreds of miles form here by now!"

"He's not. That shot hit right in his left shoulder. Unless he could get help, which I doubt he could, he would have only been able to get so far before he passed out from loss of blood. Besides, Metagross aren't meant for speed."

This guy gave me the creeps. He spoke with almost no emotion in his voice, except for…the emotion for the love of the kill. What was more, he was smart. He knew that I was a Metagross-morph, he knew that the armour piercing round wound run straight through my armour and that I wouldn't have gotten far before I passed out. What was more, he had a Houndour with him, one of the only Pokemon I ever feared.

Metagross were a psychic/steel type, while Houndour were the complete opposite: dark/fire. Not only would my Psychic move have no effect, but his fire attacks would melt through my armour like a hot knife through butter. I had to get out of here…

"And besides…we have an eyewitness who saw where he went." This caused my throat to choke up. A witness? What witness? The only other guy I talked to was…oh-no! My fears became realised as he held up a cage so everyone could see. Nestled inside, beaten and bruised, was the little Aipom that I had asked to distract them the night before.

"This little guy saw the freak as he ran. Thanks to some…persuasion… he told Darkbreath where he was going. Show them Darkbreath." Gesturing to his Houndour, it stepped right beneath the cage. Breathing in, it let out a stream of flame that licked the bottom of the cage. Aipom started to jump up into the air as the bottom of the cage became red hot, burning the soles of his feet.

The man started to laugh, an action that caused my blood to boil. This guy was enjoying causing pain and suffering to this defenceless little Aipom! I had to stop myself from running up to him and beating him senseless, an action that would probably get me killed along with the Aipom. I had to think of something…but first…

Raising my right arm, I started to use my Psychic move. I picked up several rocks from around me and from behind the hunters. With one flick of my wrist, the stones went flying through the air, making as much noise as they landed in different spots far into the forest.

"What was that?" yelled one of the men. He grabbed his gun from his back and started waving it around. The others started to react as the heard six other noises ring through the forest. The men were in total chaos, before the main guy snapped his fingers, causing his Houndour to let out a stream of flame from his mouth, almost burning his own men.

"Shut up all of you. You two…" he pointed at the men closest to him, "…investigate the sound in that direction. Darkbreath and me will check out the sound from the opposite direction. You…" Without another word, he tossed the cage towards the last guy, who nearly dropped it. "…watch him." With that, all four of them ran off, leaving the last guy behind, alone.

My plan worked better then I expected. Now that the leader and his Houndour, Darkbreath, were gone and now only one guy remained. It would be easy to get Aipom back, I just had to act before the others realised that it was a hoax and came back.

Quickly acting, I moved from my position, to a spot behind the remaining hunter. I only had one shot at this, so just in case…I once again used my Iron Defence move, hardening my body even more. The move would only last a few more moments, so I had to act now!

Running from behind the trees, I raced towards the remaining hunter. He quickly turned, but he was unable to reach his rifle because of the cage in his hand. Before he could drop the cage, or even yell for help, I smacked him hard against the head. I hit him so hard that he was knocked out almost instantly and probably suffered a concussion.

The Aipom started to chatter as he saw me. I quickly told him to shut up before the others returned. Using my claw, I ripped open the top of the cage, freeing the little guy.

"Oh thank you, oh thank you!"

"How did they catch you anyway?"

The Aipom looked at the ground, as if he was ashamed. He soon answered, "They…they offered me an apple."

I sighed. Aipom would do anything for an apple, even get caught by a crazed hunter. "Well…you'd better get out of here before they come back."

The Aipom quickly agreed with my idea, as he ran off and was soon hidden back within the trees. As I saw him disappear, I heard the sound that I had most dreaded. Footsteps, getting closer and closer. Not wanting to get caught, I quickly raced off into the forest.

Now that I knew that it was the hunters, I had to warn John and Mary, and fast. Once they found their guy unconscious and Aipom missing, they would certainly come chasing after me.

In a few minutes, I had reached the cabin, just as I heard a gunshot ring through the forest. Pulling the door with such force I almost yanked it off its hinges, I ran inside, slamming the door shut behind me. John and Mary looked up as I entered.

"Ah…I see you've finally come back. Dinner is almost…"

"There's no time for that! We have to get out of here, now!" Mary stepped back at my sudden outburst.

"Silas, what's going on?" asked John.

"The hunters…they're coming!"

"Hunters…what hunters?" Her question was soon answered as another gunshot rang through the air.

"The same hunters who tried to kill me with that armour piercing round. If we don't get out of here soon..." I shuddered to think of what would happen.

"I'll call the police." Mary quickly ran over to the phone as another shot echoed through the air. I took a glance out the window and saw the forest…or what remained of it. Most of the forest was covered in flames, turning the forest into a pile of ash. I saw three of the men run from the remains of the forest, one was holding a grenade in his hand, ready to throw it.

"Get down!" I grabbed John and Mary and dived into the living room as the grenade exploded. The windows were destroyed instantly, spraying broken glass everywhere. The door had almost been blown off, barely holding on. The force of the blast had knocked the phone from the table, the phone still ringing off its hanger.

I slowly got up, avoiding the broken glass. John and Mary were all right, with just a few bruises and cuts from the flying glass.

"We have to get out of here!"

"You go, we'll stay." I was dumbfounded by John's answer.

"Are you insane! They'll kill you!"

"Maybe not. It's you they're after. If we can stall them long enough for you to get to the mountain, they won't be able to follow you. Besides…" Walking across the room, he pushed his chair out of the way, revealing a hidden door. Yanking the door open, I gasped at what I saw.

The door opened up to a small room. Filled with rows after rows of guns. I saw pistols, revolvers, shotguns, hunting rifles and the bullets that went with them. John grabbed a hunting rifle, quickly loading it infront of my eyes.

"…I think we can take care of ourselves. Now go!"

Not wanting to leave them, but also not wanting to disobey a man holding a gun, I ran over to the door. I looked behind me for one last look at the people, who were risking their very lives to save me, before I raced out the back door, into the night.

End Chapter.