Chapter 6: A Way Out
The darkness of the cavern was complete and it was not long before Ash had fallen asleep, and all too soon was pulled back into the world of the conscious. Every muscle of his body burned with exhaustion and newly formed bruises from his encounter with Hunter J's Drapion, and the cut on his arm, although not all that deep, burned as a reminder. Every part of his body screamed for his attention, but Ash was focused on other things.
Ash had no idea of how long he had been out, much less of the where about of Drapion. If Drapion had found him so easily, there was no doubt in his mind that Hunter J's men, or even Hunter J herself would follow suit, but why; the ever looming question.
Ash closed his eyes, well as far as he could tell, and tried to come up with some sort of solution that made some sort of sense. Sure he and his friends had rubbed hunter J the wrong way a few times, but would that warrant such drastic measures? Hunter J's main focus had always been to make a profit; anything else was a waste of time, so why would she be going out of her way to get at him? Nothing made sense, and Ash knew he had more pressing matters to attend to, such as how to get out of here and-
*grumble* His stomach cried out in protest at being empty for so long.
"right" Ash said to himself opening his eyes, when he caught a glimpse of light. Slowly Ash pulled himself from the muck of the cavern floor, the mud holding him almost as an adhesive (A/N: No joke, mud is a very good adhesive, my brother once lost a pair of boots in some really thick mud, in fact he is lucky we managed to pull him out.), and focused on the light determined not to lose sight of it. Once he managed to break free from the mud, he began his trek towards what he hoped was an exit.
Ash had no way of telling how long he had been traveling in the cavern, but it seemed like an eternity. The further he traveled the more cramped his space become until finally he had to get down and belly crawl towards the light. Ash just hoped that this in fact was a way out because he did not believe he could find his way back, never mind that, Ash did not even think he could turn around.
The cold stone walls of the cave pressed in on him as he crept through the sludge towards the growing light. Mud oozed through his fingers, and soaked through his already damped clothing as he inched ever so slowly, ignoring the protests of his already strained body. Hours could have passed by or seconds, Ash had no way of telling in the gloom of the cavern, but all he knew was that he was already here longer than he ever wished to be.
His labored breathing bounced of the enclosed stone walls and rang in his ears. Aside from the light at the end, the darkness was complete and the feeling of loneliness came creeping back into his thoughts.
"What if I can't get out?" Ash unwillingly thought to himself. His heart began to beat madly in his chest resonating off the stone walls. Was he even getting any closer towards the light? Suddenly the cold walls seemed to press in even closer and the darkness engulfed him, the light at the end seemed to grow smaller.
His heart pounded even harder as Ash became overwhelmed by the desire to get out. Panic driven he quickly pulled himself forward towards the diminishing light to try and reach it, when he suddenly realized he could not move.
Fear surged through him when he realized he was stuck as he cried out in distress. Ash desperately tried again to crawl forward but the result was the same, his body surged with adrenaline clouding his mind so he could not even stop to think properly. He did not even know what part of him was stuck, only that he was.
The stone walls grazed his skin as he struggled to move any way at this point, as he cried out again knowing no one was going to hear him. In one last attempt Ash wrenched forward but only managed to smack the back of his head against the low ceiling of the cave. The jolt of pain surged through him just enough for him to snap out of his panic.
Slowly he closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh in an attempt to calm his racing heart. After what seemed like an eternity Ash calmed down, and opened his eyes once again to find the light just as it had been before he started panicking. Finally thinking clearly, Ash turned his foot after realizing it had caught preventing him from moving.
Once again he struggled forward towards the light more determined to reach it, and to keep calm. With a new resolve the light from the opening began to grow larger as Ash inched closer until finally the light broke through the cave nearly blinding him.
The afternoon sun greeted him warmly as he managed to pull himself completely out of the dark crevice just big enough for him to fit through and found himself on a rock-strewn ledge overlooking a rushing river below. The welcoming sounds were welcome to Ash's ears after being plunged in the black of silence for what seemed like forever.
Ash let out a relieved sigh grateful that that whole ordeal was done and over with. Attentively he looked around his new surroundings figuring he better figure out where he was and where he should go next. He was already lost before he decided to go spelunking, now he was beyond lost.
The ledge the cave had come out at was not that far up from the river, but it was still quite a distance to be cautious, not to mention the many rocks protruding out of the drop off. The river its self looked harsh, as the current ripped through the valley below around the many rocks. Further down the current coursed beneath many rocks. Traveling the river path could be dangerous, and Ash felt that he should really avoid that direction if he wanted to avoid being carried away even further in the land of lost.
Further up the ledge Ash could just make out the summit. It did not look as if it would be a difficult climb, but still it would be challenging enough considering he was already sore and tired, not to mention starving at this point.
Ash propped his back up against the nearest rock and let out a deep sigh. He closed his eyes as he absorbed the warmth of the sun drying out the layers of mud caked all over. Ash laughed to himself wondering if he even had any clean spots not caked with mud, scratches or bruises. His stomach gave another low grumble to remind him he had not eaten in quite some time. "Like I need to be reminded of that." Ash laughed to himself.
As good as it felt to sit there and soak in the inviting rays of the sun; Ash knew he had to push on while it was still light out. He had to find the others. Mind made up, Ash pulled himself up, every muscle protesting in moving so soon, and set his sights on his new path.
Elsewhere:
Salamence glided easily through the cool breeze as the greenery rushed by far below. The wind whipped through Hunter J's hair as she rode Salamence transfixed on her display screen, as it gave her a reassuring beep indicating that Drapion was nearby.
"It won't be long now." J said more to herself as they grew closer the Drapion's location. The tracking machine gave a whirling beep causing the hunter to nudge Salamence. Salamence responded immediately as he descended towards the forest below until they found themselves ankle deep in the murky waters. (the water has gone down…)
The hunter jumped gracefully from the dragon pokémon's back and landed with a loud splash in the eerily quiet forest. The entire area seemed determined to not make a sound in her presence sensing her ill intent. The hunter scanned the immediate area, and then studied her tracking system.
"Right." She said as she closed the device perched upon her arm, and dug out one of her pokéballs.
"Salamence return." She said as a red beam hit Salamence returning him to his pokéball. After securing the pokéball she coolly triggered her glasses to thermal mode. The cool colors of the forest flooded her vision when off in the far distance she caught sight if something promising.
The water churned beneath her boots as she made her way towards what she assumed was her Drapion. The terrain gradually began to change as she grew closer to her target. Rocks were scattered about away from the rocky outcropping protruding from the earth, and towering over the forest below. It did not take her long to find Drapion. Anger began to surge through her again as she took in the sight of her precious poison pokémon.
J pulled out the pokéball from her pocket and without a word retrieved the pokémon from beneath the pile of boulders lying atop of it. After placing the pokéball back J activated the com nesting in her ear.
"What's the status of the secondary targets?" She demanded as she scanned the area thoroughly with her thermal glasses.
The hunter was met by a moment of silence when, "Still have not located the targets sir." a hesitant voice finally answered back over the comm. The hunter made her way towards the pile of boulders her brow furrowed as she took in the information
"Why does that not surprise me?" She spat back at him, when she noticed the crevice opening blocked by the boulders.
"Sir, we're working on it." the goon answered his voice a little strained, "We will have them by the end of the day." reassuring the hunter.
"Just do it." She replied irritated as she switched off the comm. and began to climb her way towards the crevice. She studied the opening intently as she squat down. The opening was not big enough for her to fit through, but the hunter knew that Salamence could easily shift the boulders. The hunter paused a moment as a fresh breeze from the opening brushed through her hair.
No need to waste my time she thought to herself. Sure she could easily get into the opening but there was no doubt in her mind the target was long gone by now. The hunter pulled the Nav. device from her left arm and attached it to her cannon.
She opened the cannon casing and after taping a few keys took aim at the opening. She stood there a few moments as sonic waves shot from the barrel and bounced back mapping out the interior of the cave on her Nav. Once the complete interior was mapped J examined it carefully, and just as she suspected there were alternate exits.
"And once again the Brat boy not only succeeds where others have failed, but is also incredibly lucky." She mumbled to herself as she put the devices away and reset the cannon settings to the paralysis setting.
Quickly she stood up as she reached into her pockets once again pulling out another pokéball.
"Ariados" She called out as she threw the pokéball in the air releasing the dark bug type from its pokéball.
"Aria" It greeted as it extended its front legs out.
"Scout ahead and see if you can slow our friend the Brat," She said pointing over the rock face.
Without another word Ariados scuttled up the rocky wall and disappeared over the ledge. Digging out Salamence's pokéball again, she released the ferocious dragon type and jumped on. Salamence beat its red wings creating a huge gust launching them back in the air, and set off after Ariados.