chapter four: baptism

I winced when I opened my eyes to bright rays of the sun glaring down on me. The breeze gently kissed my skin, urging me awake. My body was curled up next to the base of a tall tree in the densest part of the forest. I ran a shaky hand through my hair, attempting to smooth out the rat's nest. My once soft brown curls were now entangled with twigs and dead grass from the ground. My body ached.

The greatest disappointment, though, was waking up on the ground and realizing that the events of the previous night had been no bad dream like I had hoped. The gun I stole pressed firmly into my thigh and the cold plastic poké ball in the pocket of my hoodie were the greatest reminders of my transgressions.

On the ever-so-faint bright side, I wasn't dead yet.

My muscles winced as I stood up and straightened out. I pulled the gun out of my pocket and held it gently in my hand. It was heavier than I expected. I held it up and aimed at something in the distance. I couldn't hold it steadily. I was too weak, too hungry, yet deep inside me I felt an uneasy sickness, the kind one experiences only after making an awful decision.

And yet, life continued on in my surroundings. Time and space didn't stop for me. Nature ruled with an iron fist in this domain, a domain in which life and death were mere consequences of any one single action. I had to move on.

Stuffing the gun back into the waistband of my pants, I pulled out Ampharos' poké ball and let him out. He materialized before me in an unnatural white flash.

"So what now?" I asked him with undertones of weariness and depression. His reply was a simple perk of the ears. I stared into his eyes searching for guidance, but he only gave me a look of caution and uneasiness, like he was afraid of me.

Funny, a big bad vicious mega pokémon afraid of a puny little human.

I walked for hours with Ampharos by my side. At first I thought he might put me in more danger, just in case there were any unsuspecting humans lurking in the trees, but the fact that I had no protection from the pokémon that inhabited the forest kept me from returning him.

I glanced over at him occasionally, and each time he returned my gaze with a worried expression, like he thought I was pushing myself too far. My feet ached, I could hardly walk straight, and I was starving. I don't know what he wanted from me though. I saved his life after all.

Through all the chaos of the previous night, I didn't notice that he was holding a key stone and his ampharosite. I was a little taken aback when he tried to offer the key stone to me. I hadn't really even thought about whether or not I was keeping him in the long run. The thought of pawning him off on some other unlucky soul briefly flickered in and out of my thoughts. I could make the decision later. For now, I needed him to survive. I took the bracelet.

Somewhere along the way the trees began thinning out and I noticed a small river in the distance. Hobbling over to the shoreline, I dropped to my knees and cupped my shaky hands together. I scooped handful after handful of water past my chapped lips. With an angelic coo, Ampharos knelt down beside me and did the same.

I never was baptized. I actually never was exposed to religion in the first place, didn't even know what it was until age eight or nine when my mother told me. The oligarchy is all I've ever known, all most of us have ever known. Therefore, it's a problem for the people of Kalos to put their faith and trust into things when the very institution we've been led to believe is the be-all-end-all has consistently failed us.

That's why, in my state of crazed distrust, I later almost killed the man who offered me salvation.

The water felt amazing. It left my face, my skin, with a cool, refreshing feeling, and when I had finally had enough, when I finally began to pay attention to my surroundings, I noticed it across the stream. It was a small, quaint cottage, and then I noticed them, the small, quaint elderly couple staring at me and the monster kneeling beside me in complete and utter disbelief.

I froze in fear. I had come so far already, too far to be taken now.

The two briefly exchanged words before the elderly woman began to hobble inside her house. Ampharos' ears perked at the sight of them. He let out a spark of electricity. I shakily dug out his poké ball and called him back. At this point, the hair on the back of my neck was standing up. I pulled the gun out of my pocket and held it behind my back.

The old man motioned for me to come over to him. He began walking over to the bridge in the distance. At this point, it was do or die for me.

I sprinted across the bank and onto to the wooden bridge. It felt unsteady under my heavy footsteps, like it could crack at any moment. I stopped in front of the man and shakily pointed my gun at him.

"Don't move," I said darkly.

He dropped the wooden cane and put two feeble hands in the air. His arms shook either out of fear or weakness. He was thin, malnourished for someone his age. His shaky body looked as if it could snap under his weight at any second. His face, while crossed repeatedly with lines of old age, held a serene expression. His piercing blue eyes reminded me of the water.

"Listen to me. I just want to help you," he said. His voice cracked. He sounded exhausted.

"Just shut up and walk." I motioned with my gun over to his cottage, trying to convey a sense of power. My insides felt as if they were melting. I felt a hot apprehension take over me. I was fucking terrified.

Walking through the front door, I could see almost all of the interior from where I was standing. Everything was made of wood. The living room was a small expanse of space in which I currently stood. It was furnished with a small bookshelf, a couch, a rug, and a small television. Directly ahead of me there was a make-shift hallway that led into the kitchen on the right, which was only divided from the living room by a bar of marble counter space, the bathroom on the left, and the bedroom straight to the back. From their bedroom, there was a glass sliding door that led into the backyard which appeared to be filled with pokémon.

His wife jumped in surprise when we walked into the house. She dropped the phone pressed firmly to her ear when I pointed the gun at her.

"Who are you calling?" I asked coolly, trying to maintain my composure, but I felt my voice shake. She put her arms up over her head.

"We just want to save you," she said in a quiet panic. Her deep brown eyes reflected pure fear.

It was all a facade for me. I had no power over them. I could have killed them, sure, but in the end it was still me against the world.

"Shut up!" I shouted. "Tell me who you were calling!"

"Please Miss," the old man began. "She was just calling a friend. Please, you have to trust us. We can help you."

I had no faith.

"Get on the couch," I barked. The two of them complied meekly, taking each other by hand and sitting there calmly. I walked over to the phone and smashed it with my heel.

I don't know what came over me next. Survival instincts took over I guess because I'm not a thief, but I figured I had some time until whoever they called would show up, so I took the chance to take things I'd need out in the wilderness.

They conveniently had everything I could ever need. I found a small black duffle bag in their room and began filling it with things I found in their small kitchen. The refrigerator was packed to the brim with water bottles, their cupboards stocked with dried foods and pokémon feed, drawers filled with useful utilities like pocket knives. It was like this was meant to happen.

When I was finished, I turned the gun back on them. I froze in place for a split second, trying to decide what to do. I'm ashamed to say that the idea of killing them crossed my mind. I guess in the wake of demise, our instincts will always be to look out for ourselves first.

I shoved the idea out of my mind and walked through the front door back outside. A short gust of wind hit my face, and then I saw him and froze with fear. This was a man. He was tall and strong. He was young, my age. He intimidated me. He had the power to end my life any way he saw fit.

I pointed the gun at him.

He lifted his arms up above his head and I got a good look at them through his white t-shirt. He wore tight fitting jeans which were torn up in various places. His tennis shoes were scuffed. Had he been out in the wild?

He looked like a survivor.

"Please don't shoot me," he said clearly.

I took a step towards him. "Then you're going to get out of my way and let me go."

I had a better look now. He had the body of a man, but his face held a childlike vigor. His bright green eyes and messy brown hair held the innocence of youth. If I hadn't known better, I might've thought he'd been untouched by the state of Kalos.

I started side-stepping away from him.

"Just wait okay," he said, flashing me a reassuring smile. "I have to show you something."

He slowly began reaching down into his pocket. I didn't know what he was about to pull out. I started panicking and pulled the trigger.

Thankfully, the safety was on.

He heard the click and lunged forward, attempting to grab the gun from me. He swung his arms up to grab me, but I ducked under his reach and maneuvered my way to his side. I gave him a firm crack on the head with the butt of my gun, sending him falling to the ground. I began to run.

Suddenly, the flash of white light appeared in front of me again. Ampharos materialized, blocking my way.

"Gree," he cried meekly. Ampharos began to walk over to the man on the ground, nursing his bloody head. I turned around to look. He knelt down over him. Ampharos knew him.

I watched in utter confusion as Ampharos helped the man up into a sitting position with its small arms. Blood flowed steadily down the man's face, but he still flashed me a smile.

"Can I show you now?" he asked. He pulled out of his pocket a small plastic ball, similar to mine, but with a different design. He pressed the middle button, enlarging it, and tossed it into the air towards me. As the white light faded, I felt the ground beneath me begin to shake a little.

After fully materializing in front of me, the pokémon let out a deafening roar. The bird pokémon among the trees scattered. I shrunk away from it. I had to shield my eyes. It's bright, clean steel reflected the sun into my face harshly.

It was Aggron.