Chapter 2

"Make Wishes"

Days 7-39 of the apocalypse…

The first week was rough for the two. The first hurdle they had to pass, of course being Avery's newfound deafness. It didn't take very long for him to remember the vast writing material he brought. They resorted to talking to each other through writing. It wasn't the worst thing to do, and it managed to keep their minds busy. He had learned the girl's name, "Avah." They both laughed heartily when he shared his name back. She thought he was joking with her at first, with his name being so similar.

Of course there were nights when they'd be lying in separate beds, and the other would suddenly have their emotions rush back to them. Those were the most solemn nights, when without anyone else to care, they would cry with each other as they fell asleep. But most of the time, they'd occupy themselves with board games, and the occasional game of charades. Laughing with each other into the night until they were so exhausted they'd pass out. Because after all, if you had no energy left to cry, you'd keep yourself from dealing with it. That was the hope.

There were multiple times when Avah tried to leave, out of curiosity mostly. Avery was very adamant she stayed, but he didn't keep her trapped. He gave her the code, silently wishing she wouldn't ever abandon him to his lonesome in the dead of night. Avah herself wouldn't dare leave him behind, in case he would be the only friend she had left. So, they stayed. Week after week went by, Avery's wounds healed, they made each other angry… Being stuck inside so close to somebody for long periods was brutal. Especially after such traumatic events. Nevertheless they couldn't argue, Avery regarded that as a plus. Writing down your argument angrily on a piece of paper did not hold the same weight as words, and would often end up with them laughing at the situation.

The food was plentiful. They didn't even have to ration, though this brought thoughts to Avery. How long would they have to be here? They would eventually run out of supplies one day. And Avery was sure that the two of them wouldn't be able to go on like this forever. There were still so many unanswered questions in his head that he was dying to know, and there was always that urge to find Luna. He had hoped she hadn't been doing terrible things herself now, he doubted she would.

One night, Avery woke in his sleep, noticing Avah's absence. His fear heightened for the first time in a while, as he shot up out of bed. Entering into the main room to confirm his suspicions, the door was cracked open, and Avah was nowhere to be found. Without thinking, he rushed out the door. He wished he could hear so badly right now, but his eyes would be enough. He cleared the bushes concealing the vault and looked out on the pond, instantly relaxing. Avah was kneeled at the water's edge, staring down at it.

He cautiously walked over, and met her smile as she turned to him. She patted the grass next to her, and Avery looked around wearily. What if they were to be ambushed? He sighed and let go for a moment, as he realized how nice the fresh air felt. He slowly took a seat, staring more at Avah in curiosity than their surroundings. She quickly wrote in a notebook, "It's peaceful. The stars, the pond." She put a hand under his chin and gently lifted his head until he was looking up into the cosmos.

The stars were as bright as ever, distant galaxies winked in the distance. The colors of the night sky dancing like a messy beautiful painting. He lowered his head down to the pond, which almost seemed to glow in the moonlight as it reflected the stars behind their heads. Avery finally smiled at that, it had felt like such a gift, even just seeing the stars again. She passed the notebook to him, and tilted her head. Avery took it and wrote, "It's beautiful. Thank you for showing me, I thought-"

She took the notebook from him suddenly, and wrote again, "Thought I'd leave you? I'm not so mean!" Avery laughed, he didn't care that they were outside, he laughed at that. And so did she.

Eventually they laid on their backs, looking up at the night sky together. They held hands, comforting any bad thoughts the other might have in the moment. After a while, a shooting star shot overhead, and they both sat up and looked at each other eagerly. Avah quickly scribbled, "Make wishes," on the notepad. She then closed her eyes and thought really hard. Afterwards, she urged Avery to do so as well.

Avery nodded, and closed his eyes. Making the most desirable wish to himself at that moment, 'I wish… to get Luna back.' He finished and gave Avah a thumbs up. After that, he yawned, standing up and stretching. He pointed back to the bunker, and Avah did the same, as they both walked back up into the bunker, locking it once more.

Once inside Avery took a notepad and wrote, "What'd you wish for?"

She showed him her notepad, "Not telling!" She said blowing a raspberry at him before running off.

Avery giggled at her antics as she turned, ran, and jumped into her bed. Avery himself settled back into his own bed. The night was so much better spent with the stars, Avery deemed it a shame they were stuck in this hole. In any case, he drifted to sleep, thinking of his wish.

Day 124 of the apocalypse…

A few more months passed, and the seasons began changing. It wasn't too cold, but it was surely enough to make Avery worry. He hoped it wouldn't snow much, as getting snowed in would be the worst thing to happen yet. It happened to his father once, and he and his mother had to rescue him with shovels one time. He expressed these concerns with Avah as well, who would always look on the brighter side of things. The only thing she seemed upset about was that they had no decorations for when Christmas rolled around. She even argued that they should return to town before it's too snowy, so that they could get some before returning.

Of course Avery disputed that idea every time, intending to remind her of the dangerous world. Avery thought this was a simple thing this time, but he was wrong. Avah got angrier, writing down a simple question, "How do you know that the pokemon have been evil?"

Avery sighed, writing himself, "I don't, but it's not worth the risk."

"My family had pokemon. I don't think they're evil." She rebuked.

"I had one myself, and I agree. But what if they were taken control of? You saw them shoot off right?"

Avah looked down at that, she had no answer. Neither did Avery, but Avery's idea made sense. If the world was dangerous, they were safe. Anyone would rather be safer than sorry after there is no turning back. She sighed and wrote again, "Fine, you're right. Let's make the most of this weather though."

Later that night, they were cooking an assortment of veggies in a pot, making something that resembled stew. Avery never let Avah cook, unless she wanted to help with simple stuff. She hadn't been taught how to yet, so it only seemed fair. Plus, she did the dishes afterwards, though Avery ended up helping most of the time. Avery began to analyze something that brought clear worry to his face, but he tried to hide it. Nevertheless, Avah noticed what he had been looking at, and put two and two together. They were running out of fuel for the gas stove. Afterwards everything would be cold, edible, but they would be miserable.

Avah left the kitchen, much to Avery's surprise. She scoured an old bookshelf in the corner, hoping to come across what she needed. Finally she did, pulling out a book; "Kalos Region Maps" She quickly flipped to their city, and mentally mapped out where exactly their bunker was on the map. Just to their luck, a small convenience store had its back to the woods they were in. But as Avery called out in his increasingly slurred speech that dinner was done, she hid the book.

They ate in silence, usually they would make a game out of eating. Such as playing dots, and whoever got a square was allowed to take a bite. But this time there weren't any games, just peace and quiet. Once it seemed that they were mostly done, Avah slowly pulled the book out, garnering an eyebrow raise. She flipped to the same page, and showed him her path, and that they could resupply.

Avery's eyes grew wide, and fearful, before he grew angry and swatted the book off the table. "We can't!" He yelled, looking in her eyes. Avah only teared up, as she stood up and ran to the bedroom. Avery knew she just wanted to help. He cleaned up dinner by himself that night. Avery slept on a couch as well, not wanting to disturb her in their bedroom.

He found himself waking in the middle of the night again, tossing and turning, not being able to stay comfortable anymore. He threw himself upward and groaned, he'd say sorry to Avah, then sleep in his own bed. It was better than this anyway. Gently opening the door, his eyes adjusted to the darkness as he looked to her bed. But she was absent. He checked his bed, nope. The top bunks? Empty. Avery's heart sank so low he felt he would lose it. He checked for his now empty backpack in a closet and couldn't find it, the book was gone as well, then he panicked.

Throwing on some extra layers of clothing he sprinted out the door. He wanted to call her name, but what good would it do? He cursed himself for being deaf. He ran as he scanned his surroundings, following what should've been the fastest path through the forest. He just couldn't find her. It must have been a mile or two when he finally caught sight of something, something that looked like a flashlight in the distance. He ran faster, did she have a flashlight?

He crept slowly as he got close to the light. The odd thing was that it wasn't moving, it was only pointed in his direction and nowhere else. Once he got closer he caught sight of what looked like Avah, who was cowering close to the ground. He would've wondered why, but he didn't have to. She wasn't the one holding that flashlight, he squinted his eyes and could see that it was a large Sceptile that was holding the flashlight. He looked to be conversing with her, which made no sense at all, but Avah was clearly too terrified to do anything. Avery spotted multiple other flashlights off in the distance as well, more pokemon were out here as well? How did pokemon learn to use flashlights?

Avery wanted to help so badly, but he didn't even get the chance to. Sceptile reached a hand down and put it on her shoulder, only to have it swatted away as she tried to run the opposite way. Avery felt a feeling of hope, but it washed away as Avah was grabbed by two vines on nearby trees that seemed to come to life on their own. Avery remembered that Sceptile was a grass type, and felt horrible watching this happen. Once the Sceptile caught up, he released the vines, he picked her up and she was still struggling. The Sceptile swung her over his shoulder, though he did it rather gently as the mon pulled out what looked like a radio.

Avery felt worthless, his last friend, the only person he had left was being taken. He walked out onto the path, contemplating on if he should attack. Avery reached into a pocket, and began brandishing a hunting knife. Yet he was too scared to go forward. Avah seemed to notice him as she widened her eyes, she waved her still free arms as to say not to do whatever he was planning on doing. She pointed to his right, Avery followed it and noticed that some flashlights were closer than he had expected before. Avery hesitated to run as he looked at Avah, she shook her head with tears running down her face, and waved goodbye. Avery grimaced, gritted his teeth, and did just as he had done all those months before. Waving back, with tears in his eyes, he saved himself, fleeing the area before any more pokemon could show up.

He got back to the bunker without a hitch. Locking it and collapsing to the floor in horror. His sadness quickly fell to rage as he stood up, throwing books, drawings, anything he saw that reminded himself of her. Throwing everything that made him happy until the rooms looked like an utter mess. His rage filled tears took over, and he yelled.

In the coming weeks, Avery would often have episodes like these. Filled with rage and sorrow deeper than most could understand. He would set things up specifically to knock them down in these fits, it was the only thing he could do anymore to keep himself in check. He would cry himself to sleep almost nightly, and every other task was nothing more than a chore. There was no longer any fun to be had in daily life, after a month, Avery grew bitter. He was pessimistic and judgmental of everything he did, often blaming himself for her capture. It grew worse than it should, to the point he contemplated things he would regret. But he steeled himself, and kept going. Avery wasn't emotionless, he just had nothing to feel happy about, so from that day she was taken, he had never smiled afterwards.

Avery spent a lot more time outside now. Mostly climbing trees and sitting in vantage points for what seemed like forever. He would often stare up at the stars, begging for another shooting star to wish on. All he wanted to know was if she was okay somehow. He noticed these pokemon often roamed the forests like they had the night. They would also do so during the day. But as far as he could see with his naked eye, they rarely went as far into the forest as his bunker was, but the gap was closing. They would spend a day or two in one area, then move farther in. Eventually they would be here. Avery wasn't quite sure if his bunker would be camouflaged enough.

He merely shrugged at the thought and hoped. Wanting to ride out the metaphorical storm that is the search parties. The fact that they had even set up search tactics like this proved no doubt in Avery's mind that the pokemon were corrupted. How else would they do things like this with no trainer? Maybe Team Flare was controlling them, beginning their world domination?

Avery spent his time not outside scouting, by trying to get that old radio to work. They had tried initially at the beginning of the apocalypse, but the most they got from it was a couple of kids who had gotten into the news station and broadcasted on their frequency. That was day one however, it quickly went to static after that. They had tried for a few weeks to find more, but it was impossible. Avery couldn't hear the stations obviously, but he could tell the difference now between static and talking, due to the vibrations from the speaker.

After flipping through hundreds of channels, he found one. He sat upright in disbelief as he felt the vibrations of talking, or maybe music. The thing that really surprised him was the radio's small side scrolling screen, which displayed the name of the station; "Station 319 - 'The Plusle and Minun Talkshow'" Avery was confidently baffled at the name. Was it a name from the old world? Or had pokemon figured out their technology as well? In either case, he felt it a good idea to switch channels, in case they somehow traced his location with it.

Day 173 of the apocalypse…

November 10th

Avery's daily routine was solidified, and today was no different. He awoke early in the morning, quickly ate something that usually tasted awful. And then he would go outside and climb the large tree atop the hill his bunker was on. He did this twice every day for multiple hours, once starting at noon, and once at midnight until nearly sunrise. He had determined that night was more dangerous, there were more flashlights in the distance at night, maybe they were hoping to catch kids who thought they could sneak around in the dead of night? Then again, Avery couldn't see them as well in the daytime, since they didn't have flashlights. Maybe there were the same amount of searchers he just couldn't notice.

He, however, was growing worried. They had definitely moved their searching deeper into the forest. It wasn't often, but at times he did see roaming parties pass by the pond by the bunker. It was only during the daytime that he never saw this though. Avery suddenly began to grow tired, sitting on a branch with his back against the tree. Waking up every couple of hours to stand watch wasn't very good for sleep. Avery would always convince himself that they would stop searching, but their efforts only seemed to get more and more aggressive. Regardless of this, Avery did fall asleep.

Avery finally jerked back awake a few hours later, but the damage had been done, and he kicked himself for lowering his guard. He groggily looked around, eyes adjusting to the growing darkness. It was fine, he would just start his nightly watch duty now. Looking down at his bunker door he froze in panic. Outside the door was a group of five or so pokemon, they all had some sort of vest on, there was a Luxray, another Sceptile, maybe the same one from before? A Nidoking, Bronzong, and a Garchomp.

Avery held his breath as he scrutinized the group, leaning over the side of the branch. They had clearly found the door, as the Sceptile was currently knocking on it. After a minute of waiting he shrugged and turned to the group, as they conversed amongst each other. The Garchomp nodded, and gestured for the Luxray. After stepping forward, Luxray's eyes seemed to glow as he looked back and forth, but after a moment he stepped back and shook his head. The Garchomp gritted his teeth, as the Nidoking slammed his fist against a nearby tree in anger. Which caused Avery to grow fearful.

Bronzong tried to calm them down, but shook its head. Garchomp sighed, and confirmed for the Bronzong to do something. And after a moment, he released some sort of move. Avery couldn't see it, but he felt the buzz in his head which meant there was a psychic type move. Avery held his breath as he tried to block out as much as possible, but Bronzong turned excitedly to the group, saying a few words that made all of the pokemon's eyes widen. Then they all split off, calling out something, but Avery's best guess was they knew he was in the area somewhere. 'This is bad, really bad..' he thought to himself.

Avery just really hoped they wouldn't check the trees, but his hopes were shattered a few seconds later when the Sceptile began doing just that. That was it, he had to get down from the tree and make a break for it. He could maybe come back, if he was lucky. But he had to count on the idea of never returning as they might just stake out his bunker. He solidified the idea, and began slowly climbing down, on the opposite side to not attract attention. He had gotten good at climbing, but when you're fearful, it's a lot harder to do. When he placed his foothold on a never before used branch, and it snapped falling to the ground. Avery didn't have to have his hearing to know that he just alerted them.

Jumping the rest of the way to the ground he ran the opposite way, only turning his shoulder to confirm his suspicion. The Sceptile was looking straight at him with wide and almost excited eyes, pointing in his direction as he called back at the others. 'Alright,' Avery thought to himself, 'It's just a game of cat and mouse. Against pokemon. What could go wrong…' He thought bitterly.

It took not even a second of running through the trees before he noticed the Luxray and Sceptile weren't very far behind. With Garchomp trailing a bit farther back, the other two even farther. Unfortunately for them, Avery was used to this terrain. He had been out here in the woods with his dad many times, and knew all the twists and turns in the forest. The downside was, pokemon were more than adept at traversing the same things. Vines were seemingly popping up out of nowhere, nearly tripping or making Avery run head first into them, but each time they'd get fried by some lightning attack by Luxray. 'Are they fighting over me like animals fight over food in the wild?' He thought worriedly.

A large wall of vine suddenly appeared in front of him. And Avery skidded to a halt, but not wasting any time as he dashed towards the left where the Luxray was. Luxray looked ready for a fight, but Avery just slid under him and kept running in that direction. It threw them off for a minute as they continued the chase.

Avery had no idea how he was outrunning them, his best guess was that they didn't know if he had any traps in the area. The downside was that making the maneuver around the Luxray had allowed the other three to catch up, he might've been able to outrun them, but it would take a long while now. Avery tried kicking rocks as he ran, or kicking dirt up to hopefully get it in their eyes. It only partially worked once before they had him figured out on that front. They were flanking him on all sides now, and gaining ground ahead of him, if he didn't make a move now he would be boxed in.

Of course, the adrenaline from being chased by five mon, who you suspected to be thinking of doing the worst to you, was not ideal. It was coursing through his veins, making him feel the urgency of his acts. Avery made a critical mistake, while looking back the forests he was in quickly dipped down. Avery had no time to react as he tumbled down the muddy slope and stopped at a river's edge at the bottom. It took a few seconds of being dazed for Avery to return to his senses, and when he did the Sceptile was much too close for comfort.

Avery jumped backwards a few feet, shocking the five pokemon that now stared him down. Behind him was a river, fast flowing as well. He couldn't hear it but he could feel the mist of the water hitting the rocks, these were more like rapids. He glanced nervously at his back feet which were as close as possible to the edge, then back at the pokemon. To his surprise, they all seemed to be respecting the distance. With arms held up as if to say they were no threat, the Sceptile mouthed what looked like words again, just what was this thing trying to say? Avery knew it was impossible for a pokemon to speak, but he still tried.

The Sceptile put his hand to his chest, and gestured to the rest of the mons. But it was when he took a step forward that Avery felt the adrenaline rush again, and he brandished his father's hunting knife. He had no clue how to use it, but a fool with a knife is still a threat, one which the pokemon took seriously. Sceptile took multiple steps back. Avery knew pokemon could understand humans to a certain degree, and with a deep sigh, he shouted words for the first time in months, "You leave m-me. I Want nothing t-to do with you!" His words were slightly broken but still comprehensible. The pokemon looked saddened by his words, but why should Avery care? If you corner an animal, you deserve what comes to you.

Suddenly the Bronzong took hold of his knife with some psychic move, and Avery pulled with all of his might not to have it taken. The team seemed to be falling apart now, Sceptile was arguing with Nidoking and Luxray, while Garchomp frantically tried to stop Bronzong from using his psychic power. Avery used this time to check his surroundings again, there was a precarious set of rocks that spanned the rapids, and he might be able to hop across them. With one last determined look, he nodded his head.

Avery released his knife, causing it to fly at high speeds towards the arguing Garchomp and Bronzong who both fell to the floor to avoid getting hit. Avery made a leap up on the first rock, Sceptile snapped out of his own argument as he watched him in fear and worry. There were no nearby trees or plant life he could use to stop the child, and he cursed himself for it as he leapt up after him.

Avery leapt carefully, one rock at a time, making sure not to stand on the wet spots. Yet the Sceptile was always one rock behind. He breathed deeply, then out before each jump, each one seemingly tougher than before. He was midway through the river when he got to the next rock and looked down, a sense of dizziness overcame him. The jump was at least twice the distance of all the others, but the rock was big enough to get a running start. Just as he was backing up to do so, his back hit something and Avery's eyes widened. He looked up and the Sceptile was right behind him.

The Sceptile went to grab him, but Avery quickly ducked and backed away. Both seemed to realize the same things right then, they were both out of their element, a stalemate as you would. Despite being strong versus water types, there was virtually nothing a submerged Sceptile would be able to do. And with that in mind, Avery held his fists up, challenging the mon to come closer. But the Sceptile wasn't reciprocating, he was frantically saying things, even holding his hands together as if to beg him. Avery scoffed at him as he lowered his fists now. The Sceptile stared in shock, hoping he had won the child over.

Suddenly Avery turned and ran for the jump, waiting until he got just to the edge.

He didn't even get time to jump, his foot slipped at the very edge, sending the child straight into the rapids. However, just as quickly as he hit the water, his hand was grabbed. Sceptile held onto the child's hand for dear life.

Avery didn't know if he could ever get Avah to forgive him, wherever she was now. He looked up at the Sceptile, why was he trying to save him? The other four pokemon had sorted it out now and were rushing to help the two. Avery smiled as he looked up at the night sky, looking at the stars for what he thought would be his last, and let go of the grip with Sceptile.

Sceptile quickly began to pull even harder, begging silently for the child to try and help himself. Though the pokemon's eyes widened in horror as the child began to dig his fingernails in his arms. Through gritted teeth, he pulled and pulled. The child's fingers drew blood on his arms but it wasn't enough. Avery met Sceptile's eyes, the green lizard was tearing up, and for only a moment Avery hesitated. Yet the strength of the current finally won and ripped him from his grasp. Sceptile fell backwards as his eyes teared up even more, yelling and reaching out again for Avery as he was washed away with the current.

The other four pokemon watched in horror, and Sceptile shook his head. Taking a deep breath the grass type dived straight into the rapids willingly. The other four pokemon backed up, running down the bank to keep up with where they might've been. The rapids had become shallow out farther down the river, turning into calm waters. The four pokemon sat with bated breath for ages, the white noise of the river making it all the more unbearable.

Until finally, a green head popped out of the water, gasping desperately for air. In his arms, was the child, who he held high above his head like the best trophy he could ever ask for. The four pokemon cheered, and quickly Nidoking waded into the water, to help pull the two to shore. Once on shore the Sceptile placed the child down, instantly the Sceptile began to perform CPR. Pumping his chest hopefully, and without much of a fight, water sputtered up and out of the child's lungs. And he slowly took a few breaths as he coughed terribly.

Avery sat up, coughing out water, wondering where in the world he was. And he looked up at the pokemon, realizing they'd save him, especially that green one. But why? What did these monsters want from him so badly? The Sceptile tried talking to him again, hand on the side of each of his shoulders. The Sceptile almost seemed to be growing angry now, much to the annoyance of a very confused Avery. Slowly, the Nidoking gently pushed Sceptile away, sitting in front of him.

Nidoking pointed to the child's ears, then shook his head. Avery only looked at him more oddly after that. Snapping a finger suddenly right next to his ear, all five pokemon suddenly realized, with the most apprehensive looks in the world, that Avery was deaf. They all seemed to sigh in relief. Avery had no idea what in the world was going on, but the exhaustion of the water incident hit him, and he fell backwards, passing out.

Eh I was a day late on accident.

Thanks for the reviews and other ratings. I'm expecting this story to pick up more once more chapters are released, I only say this because I've never had one of my stories barely scrape by 50 views in the first week. Not really complaining, it probably just gets buried because of how big the fandom is. I find it rather interesting actually. That being said to those who are reading, reviews are greatly appreciated if you'd like to write one!

Also my apologies to anyone who finds my writing of a deaf person to be handled badly. Obviously, I'm not hearing impaired myself, but I have tried to make it as accurate as possible.

Thanks for reading!