(Author's note): Ugh... Another short chapter. Sorry, but I've been kinda busy lately (if by busy you mean completly booked). And, believe it or not, it's gonna get worse come January. I'll be running on 6-7 hours of sleep, with a 3-hour window each day to do all my homework, take a shower, and prepare breakfast for the next day. Sounds fun, doesn't it?
The first thing I noted was pain. But this pain was different. It wasn't like the pain from the lab. It was more like… A soreness. Yes, that was the word. I was sore. But why?
As I woke up, I opened my eyes. I was in a sort of burrow, not unlike the one I used to live in. Back before I was kidnapped…
With a jolt, I remembered everything. Where was I? How did I get here? I scrutinized my surroundings more closely. I was definitely a Pokemon dwelling, not a human one. Even human naturalists didn't dig burrows.
There was a hole leading up to the surface, from which a grayish light shown down, which meant that it was cloudy. There was also a hole leading off into what was presumably sleeping chambers.
"Oh goody, you're awake!" exclaimed a female Bibarel, who emerged from the side chamber. "We found you collapsed in the snow outside our burrow. We brought you in here."
Several seconds of silence followed. I continued to study her, my eyes narrowed. It then occurred to me that she expected some sort of response. It was evident even to me that my time at the lab had deprived me of my social skills.
"Uh… Thank you." I half-muttered. Beaming nonetheless at my response, the Bibarel called "Honey? He's awake!"
During the next hour or so, the Bibarel couple fed me lunch and we talked. At several intervals there were awkward pauses in which I tried desperately to think of something to say, but couldn't. Almost everything I knew was related to lab procedures and surviving in a lab. I suddenly realized what a bad situation I was in: I had never learned to survive in an uncontrolled environment. In the lab, the idea was to comply, to not draw attention to yourself, and to numb yourself, make yourself indifferent to the pain around you.
But in an uncontrolled environment, it wasn't like that. You had to be decisive; to get food, mates, and shelter you had to beat everyone else to them. It hadn't been like that where I lived, but our woodland had been pretty peaceful, and I suspected I had been sheltered from the more barbaric side of life. Maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought, but if I had learned one thing during my time in the lab, it was that Murphy's Law was true.
Reluctant to intrude upon the Bibarel's hospitality any longer, I turned to leave. Mrs. Bibarel worried about me, asking me if I knew where I was and if I had a place to stay. I realized that it was foolish to refuse, but I said I did anyway. "Can I have your name at least?" asked Mrs. Bibarel as I left.
"NB-EM-136" I replied promptly, wincing at my automatic response, which sounded stiff and memorized. The Bibarel couple looked at me curiously. Struggling to remember my birth name, I replied "Uhh… Dash."
The Bibarel couple looked at each other, surprised. "Surely not Dash, the son of Bonnie?" exclaimed Mr. Bibarel. "I thought he disappeared before we even moved here…"
I scarcely dared believe my ears. But it could be a coincidence. I needed further clarification. "What specie is this Bonnie?" I inquired, hoping against hope that I would get the response I wanted.
"A Flareon." replied Mrs. Bibarel. "And she has a daughter named Abbey."
At least now I knew where I was.
(Author's note): Murphy's Law states that anything that can go wrong will go wrong.