Chapter 11 ):o

Several pieces of junk I just want to say...

Thanks to any/all of my readers, I really appreciate you coming back, reading, and bothering to leave a nice review.

Hello again, PolarDawn, I'm glad you continued reading after you finished your work. So thanks again for the help!

And while we're on the topic of work, I'll say that I haven't had much work these days and I haven't had much time to draw ;~;

Especially with my major artblock. Therefore my DeviantArt and Instagram are pretty much dead at the moment. But, anyways, that also means that I also have a whole lot of writers block.

So hit me with a bus.

Disclaimer:*

I don't own Pokemon!

Chapter 11:

'I won't bother anyone!'

"Earlier I heard Drew talking. Just before Lucas and I decided to get up..." Dawn walked quickly up from behind Paul. He quickly glanced at her before looking back ahead, speeding up his pace just a little. The blue haired girl frowned a little, hastily moving to catch up.

"What was that about?" She inquired, putting her index finger to her lower lip. An audible grunt came from him as he silently moved forward. Her frown moved into a slight scowl, however Dawn was not one to give up after one rejection. Curiosity ran in her blood.

"Was it related to that?" Eyes narrowing, she bit her lower lip at the thought of the incident. The warm feeling of the blood still remain on her hands no matter how many times she washed them. Dawn shivered a little bit, awaiting his response. He looked as if he honestly didn't want to talk about it, but by the look on his face, she could see that he must be at least close to spilling.

"What did you find?" Another question escaped her mouth. A sigh escaped his mouth before he stopped whirled around to face her. Stopping in front of him, Dawn's eyes locked with his cold, emotionless ones.

"Dead." Paul growled, fists clenching around his wooden spear.

"Dead? Dead what?"

"A dead man... and a boar.." He suddenly averted his eyes from hers.

"A boar? So like emboar or a swinub?" Her reply certainly wasn't unreasonable. Both he and Drew were equally shocked when they discovered it. Paul had also wondered why Leaf found the pig ordinary when they explained what they had found. So the other girl had suspected that they meant a Pokemon?

"No. Nothing like that." The boy denied, glaring icily back at her wide bright gaze. It was quite captivating for him and Paul found himself staring until she directed the topic circling his head back on track.

"So are you... talking about an... animal?" A look of shock and clear disturbance spread across her face. But of course she would look like that, since animals were believed to be extinct. Any animals you'd find in a textbook back in Sinnoh or any other region were strictly labelled as creatures of mythology. Paul gave her a curt nod before beginning to walk once more.

"W-wait!" Dawn hurried after him. Compared to her, he was a pretty fast walker. She still had several more questions to ask, especially since he had claimed to have found a supposedly extinct creature.

"What killed the man? Was the pig alive? Did it look like the images you'd find online? What did the crime scene look like?"

Her questions were beginning to irritate the hell out of him. Crime scene? Did she seriously just call it that? On an unknown island who knows how far away from civilization, a murder can not be referred to as a crime. Especially since there was no authority of any kind aside from Red.

"I don't know about what killed the man and I... don't feel like talking about it..." He grumbled, squinting a little. Further up ahead, light flooded in through the trees. The lake that Drew and Bandana girl had found should be up just through there. Thinking of water, Paul mentally jumped for joy, it had been weeks since anyone was able to bathe. And no one really had the guts to put their naked bodies in the ocean where anyone could walk 'in' on them. There was also the fact that it was wiser to travel with a partner at all times, no matter how skeptical we were of each other. It seems that Red is confident in who we all are as people.

Although, just about everyone aside from Drew was suspicious of him. And he had no idea what Dawn thought of him either. However, after her little scene from yesterday morning, she would be hypocritical to say he was violent or a threat. Even so, he couldn't keep his eyes off of her. Since that day at the airport, his interest couldn't help but be piqued. Which said something as he preferred not to get involved with too many people.

"I see... But, was it scary?" Her footsteps made soft crunching sounds from behind him as they drew closer and closer to the lake.

"Why does it matter?" He grumbled, sliding a finger down his spear. It was smooth and well-crafted. As expected of a product made by Red himself. That guy seemed to have way more experience out in the wild than anyone else in the group. Which was definitely a mystery as none of them had even thought about him what his previous or current job was. Maybe it was a hobby? Shaking his head, Paul decided that he would simply ask Red about it later rather than wasting valuable energy thinking about it.

"I was just wondering." Dawn began to hum quietly. The song she hummed was not one that Paul recognized. She must've made it up in her head as it seemed slightly repetitive and sloppy. They walked wordlessly, Dawn's song was the only thing that kept the mood less awkward. Although, the bright tune of it was beginning to creep Paul out a little bit. However, he decided not to say anything as to ruin her mood and be forced to put up with pathetic whining.

Birds chirped and more leaves and twigs were crushed under their shoes as they neared the entry to the lake. Branches, bushes, and grass were recklessly shoved aside as they stepped through and into the bright light. May and Drew must have cleared this out the day before. Yet something seemed very off and nerve-wracking. Paul didn't know what, but something was making him extremely uneasy. This uneasy feeling was the same which struck him the last two horrific incidents. Instinctively, he closed his eyes as he was engulfed by sunlight and the light sounds of small waves on the lake filled his ears.

"Hey, Paul?" Dawn's soft voice whispered to him.

"What do you want?" Paul couldn't help but glare at her. It just seemed natural and oddly befitting for a conversation with her. But, usually this was the reason why the two clashed. With his eyes still closed, he inhaled fresh air, slacking his grip on his weapon.

"Nothing... It's just... Do you ever get the feeling that you're being watched?" She murmured, eyes flickering around the area. Shaking his head, Paul opened his eyes to see the lake in front of him. Walking ahead, he observed how clear the water looked along with how fresh the plants growing around it were. To his right, a dragonfly about the size of his hand landed on the leaf of a cattail. The peaceful atmosphere was certainly great, especially with the lack of people around. Remembering a little bit of Leaf's eagerness to get everyone away from the camp or busy, he figured that she was the type who liked to be alone. Honestly, that girl was almost just like him. Having said that, she was definitely kinder than he could ever be as far as he knew. Maybe he would mention this place to her?

"How long are we going to be here?"

Wow. It was just question after question. Was there any real conversing going on when others talked with Dawn or was it just her asking them questions. And Paul was in no mood for anymore interviews or random questions.

"Probably for a bit, maybe explore just a little." He muttered. A frown found it's way to her face.

"The last time you said that a wild creature tried to kill you." Her reply was anything but pleasant to him. After what had happened earlier that morning with Drew, the last thing Paul wanted to think about was past events or gore.

"That was one time. Let it go." Grumbling, he rolled up his pant legs and waded into the water. The refreshing water almost seemed to be seeping into his aching muscles and bones. Scooping up some of the cold, clear water with his right arm, he began to clean the remaining dried blood from off of his lower left arm. He shivered as his eyes travelled to the bite mark. They had been lucky enough that the cannibalistic girl had not been carrying a weapon on her. However, no matter what he did, Paul could simply not go at least an hour without staring at the large scar. At times, he still found himself worrying over whether his wound would get infected or not, even if it was beginning to close up.

"I can't let it go and obviously you can't either!" Paul looked up to see Dawn peering closer at his arm. Her eyebrows were knitted together, a worried expression plastered over her face. His eyes simply gazed at her blankly in return. After the encounter from yesterday, he couldn't look at her face without seeing the red, tear stained expression which was coated with rage. It was too distracting and aggravating to think about. Does everyone look like that when they go insane? How could she recover in just a day? No, she had recovered in the matter of minutes because of him. Although, he couldn't be too sure. She could still be mentally ill.

"Paul?" Unconsciously, he had moved even farther away from where Dawn was standing. The worried expression that triggered his memories faded from her face. Which was great, as Paul preferred not to think about too many things. Having too many memories would only hurt you in the end after all. At least, that's what he thought. Memories of his father were a perfect example.

"-aul? Hey, Paul, are we going to move or not? The feeling that we're being watched is beginning to freak me out." Dawn walked towards him and tugged on the sleeve of his black and light gray hoodie.

"Fine, let's go take a look around. But only straight ahead, no twisting and turning, we can't afford to get lost." He felt slightly light headed. Memories and thoughts circled and clouded his head. If you could look into his aching head then it would look incredibly misty looking. Once more, he moved unconsciously, this time reaching up to his shoulder. His hands grabbed at the fabric of his hood. That's right, he remembered. He had left his travel bag back at camp along with his MP3 player and earphones. It was a miracle that it even survived in the flames of the crash.

At the moment, Paul just wanted to lay down and listen to music. But he decided that he'd only use it when he really needed it, as it only had so much power in it's battery. Which drove him nuts as keeping his sanity and emotions was beginning to get slightly rougher than it was in the first two days.

"Paul, come on."

Blinking, he looked up to see Dawn walking straight ahead. She had a slightly pleading look on her face. Did she really want to leave the lake area that badly?

"Paul, please, it's really creeping me out." Fiddling with her thumbs more, Dawn frowned and began to anxiously sway back and forth on her feet.

"Alright, get moving." With a sigh, Paul shoved her in the back roughly before walking ahead.

'Repent'

"May, please wait up."

Leaf's soft and quiet voice echoed throughout the woods as she rushed after the other brunette. Twigs and leaves snapped loudly as May stormed through the woods. She couldn't tell whether May was genuinely enraged or upset with Drew. Whatever it was, going off aimlessly into the woods was a job for Ash or Paul. Although, Ash might've been just plain clueless.

Her hand was clutched around the blunt, half finished spear. Earlier, Drew had tossed it to her, claiming it was for self defense. Which wasn't all that strange, considering the fact that more than ninety percent of the woods on the island were unexplored. However, something was getting under her skin. Was it because of the drama? Or maybe it was the fact that both Paul and Drew seemed like they were hiding something when she asked. Shaking her head, she directed her concentration back to May.

"May, where are you going?" Gaining speed, she became closer and closer to May. As the girl stomped through the woods, Leaf swore that she must've awaken the whole forest. For the past couple minutes she had been following May, making sure that she wouldn't get lost or into trouble. And she had also been continuously pestering her about what was going on. Even if Leaf knew that some people need space and time, now wasn't the time to get into that. Especially with several other survivors depending on the amount of help.

"Just leave me alone, damn it!" She spat, continuing to move forward without looking back. That was enough for Leaf. Wordlessly, she took a deep breath before dashing ahead to catch up. As a child she'd had a lot of practice running whenever her eevee ran off. Although, even with a good amount of stamina built up, the task of chasing May around was beginning to get tiresome.

"N-no need for harsh language!" Her voice shook a little bit as she made her way up, now directly behind May. Eying her broken arm swaying back and forth in the splint, Leaf noticed that it was causing her difficulties as she ran.

"What the- Get the hell away from me!"

Indeed it sounded harsh, but Leaf could hear how close her voice sounded to breaking. From the distance, what sounded like a bird pokemon squawked. While leaves rustled and crackled under their feet, gusts of wind blew in their faces ever so gently.

"P-please c-c-calm down!" Dropping her weapon with a thud, she lunged.

Step. Crackle. Crash.

May screamed in surprise. Leaf had jumped on her, careful when picking her angle so that she would not force May down on her broken arm. Together, they came crashing down onto the ground.

"Fuck, now both of my arms hurt. What the hell was that for?!" Opening her shut eyes to May's voice, Leaf's eyes made contact with her frowning, tear stained face. A face which made her heart ache for the other girl, even if they hadn't known each other for very long. What had caused all of this? Why was she acting like this. This wasn't the girl she had met earlier at all.

"Wh-what happened back there?" She quietly murmured, digging her head into the thrashing brunette's chest. Her heartbeat was very rapid, pounding. Leaf didn't know how to calm her down, which is what was a bit scary. Having been on an island for three days now, who knows what the others would do when put on the spot. The warmth of another person was something she had not felt in a long time. It was not something she would let herself feel either. Soothing. Calming. Like a paradise.

"I don't know!" May wailed, voice horse from sobs. It brought even more mixed feelings into Leaf's heart and mind. She felt May's chest stagger from underneath her head as she wrapped her arms around her waist. If there was one thing she was good at, it was comforting people. At least, that's what her father told her.

"Did it make you feel conscious..?" A whisper escaped Leaf's lips. A lock of hair fell in front of her face as May tried once more to push her away.

"Haha! Of c-course not, I'm more confident than Drew!" The laugh that she forced out made her furrow her eyebrows even more than they already were. Not a single sound could be heard from the woods surrounding them. No birds, animals, pokemon, rustling leaves, nothing. It was as if the only two people left in the world right now were them. In this awkward scenario.

"D-don't... Don't you dare lie to me!" Leaf shouted, tightening her grip on her. "I know how you're feeling.. I-I think!"

"Shut the hell up! You don't know me at all! You're just a stranger! You're all just strangers! What the fuck would you know?!" Her thrashing started up again. Struggling to get away, May began slamming her good fist against Leaf's back. She cried out in pain, closing her eyes and simply waiting for her to calm down. Again and again her back was pounded by the furious and confused girl.

"P-please stop!" Even though it hurt, Leaf knew that it was only a matter of time before she stopped... Hopefully. More pain stuck through and down her spine. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she refused to cry in front of one who was hurting more than she was now. It would be a insensitive thing to do.

After several more strikes, she stopped. May laid back, Leaf still on her, both gasping for air. Her eyes were red and puffy, the same color of her face. Eyes shut closed, Leaf leaned into May just a bit further, relaxing her embrace. Suddenly, May inhaled a large breath of air, startling her.

"I'm so... sorry!" She almost screamed in Leaf's ear. Leaf could hear the other brunette's sobs starting up again, although this time they were silent.

"It's alright.." Pulling herself up, she got off of May and sat backwards.

"No it's not okay!" May lowered her head, staring at the ground in front of her. A tiny drop of blood fell to the ground, when Leaf opened her eyes she could see that she was biting her lower lip. It looked extremely painful, causing her to look away.

In front of her, May shifted her splint around until she regained comfort in it. The warmth that Leaf had given her could still be slightly felt, giving her shivers as another gust of wind blew in. Clear and genuine guilt spread over her face.

"I don't know what's happening to me and I hurt you... I hate it, I hate Drew, I hate mysel-" Her blubbering was stopped as the petite girl hugged her again. Since Leaf was shorter than her, it almost felt like a child was clinging to her.

"L-look, Leaf, I-"

"Let's just shut up for now, okay?" Leaf silenced her again.

Chapter 11 is officially completed c:

I suppose I included a little bit of drama near the end, it did seem like May was overreacting just a tad bit. However, this chapter was dedicated to my friend who's currently in depression.

She thinks that she's all alone and has been acting really pessimistic lately. And unfortunately, there's nothing I can do but support her. I really don't have the courage to say anything in real life, so hey, she knows who she is.

So if you're reading this, friend, everyone's been through it. Although not everyone has someone who will cry for them and tell them that it's alright, so be lucky, okay? You're going to be fine, mkay? Got that?

As for Paul and Dawn, I dunno what I'm going to do, but they will discover something... Unpleasant? Uhuehuehue c:

Uh... So yeah, that's about it! I'm thinking about whether I want to replace the May and Drew character tags for this story and putting Leaf and Gary as the second main ship. Although I love CS, it just seems like I've been writing a lot about Leaf lately.

Maybe I need to do some more writing for Dawn and make her more appealing than she is now? I feel like I've began to portray Dawn as sort of a bitch.

What do you guys think? Who should I write more as?

Yep! That's all I have to say now, feel free to leave a review!

Help me make my story better!

Bear~!