Chapter 3: the incident
When Alex got 'home' be it the thing he has been calling home for the past year was an abandoned underground station that other than the thick layers of dust and rust been in surprisingly good condition when he found it, an old underground train hooked up to the utility room power, an improvised rainwater boiler for drinking water and a bed made of old clothes and newspapers setup in the old locomotives passenger area.
An old staff room sure had a fridge that clung to life to keep what ever edible flora he could find fresh but the old gas stove had long since been disconnected from what ever ancient gas mains once came through here. "Well gotta go into town again" Alex said with a sigh as he looked at his empty fridge and empty pantry, he knew this night he would go to bed hungry but he should at least rest before the stealth mission ahead.
With a few swigs of water to at least stop his stomach from aching too much Alex flopped onto his bed leaving his rifle next to him on the ground, exhaustion caught up with him and allowed him to sleep sure it was more against his will but for once it's something he welcomed.
He let out a groan the next morning waking up from a dreamless sleep, his stomach was for a lack of words fucking furious with him though the lack of food and human contact had probably made him crazy enough to use that description.
Prepared for his mission Alex grabbed his backpack and rifle before downing some more water to silence his stomach, with it all silenced he jumped down onto the tracks and began the long walk to Motostoke.
Alex despite the train being rusted to hell liked the fact that the old train tunnels and sewer tunnels existed, they provided him easy access to nearby villages, Towns and Cities with only rare instances of having to pop out the ground to actually enter any buildings.
He hummed himself a tune as he strode for a couple hours through the tunnels seeing nothing but the occasional dirt covered crazed Rattata skittering around to disrupt his tune, though he wouldn't admit to it he has once or twice on the walk to Motostoke jumped and aimed his rifle at one because it surprised him.
Once he reached a sewer access he jumped to the system under the main road, it had been a while since he last used it but he pulled out his old smartphone the Rotom that once haunted long since exercised from the device. Its screen lit up the dark with a sickly blue aura with the time displayed on its screen.
"1pm shopkeep should be on his break if I recall right" Alex muttered to himself having been to this store more than a few times before, he put his phone back in his pocket and with rifle slung onto his back he climbed an access ladder to reach the surface.
With the sewer cover perched on top of his head he scanned the backstreet having not heard anyone Pokemon or human, he clambered to his feet when he got out of that hole slinking over to the wall of the back of the large shop that had once been a bus depot.
He saw the lock on the backdoor to the shop one he had picked numerous times to get in, Alex reached into his jacket flicking out his knife and used the thin blade with its slightly bent upward tip to push in the 3 pins. He had always wondered why the shopkeep never changed the lock to something much harder to pick but just as before the lock made a click and slid open.
Alex looked up and around noticing the red glint of a CCTV camera which filled him with dread, this stealth mission became a race against the clock if the shopkeep was watching. "when did he get a camera?!" alex thought to himself in a panic as he sped inside keeping low to the ground, the back of the shop was as packed with goodies as always.
Taking his bag off his back Alex rushed over to grab pre-cooked tinned miltank, canned breads, a few fresh potatos swearing to himself he would finally make that garden as well as a guilty pleasure of his Lavender cola. Sure the purple concoction wasn't to everyone's taste but the sweet and silky drink with an aroma that soothed the soul was a fantastic treat if you had been hiding from things you think might either kill you or erase your identity.
As the bag was zipped up that's when Alex heard the backdoor be shut, he had already left some notes and coins to pay for what he was taking so no one could call it stealing but that's not what he was worried about. Various huffs, small shrieks and puffs of both frustration and what almost felt like pleading sounded out around the boxes something Alex unmistakably identified as a Nidoqueen, this was quickly followed by the more subtle sound of a human man going "mummy I don't think he understands you."
"Mummy? Why had he called that Pokemon that?" Alex thought before shoving the thought from his head he hadn't cared before and guessed that the Pokemon had authority over the human that no doubtable was trailing her around.
Alex dashed behind some boxes using the footsteps of the Nidoqueen to keep track of where she was, he kept low and was so prefixed on the Nidoqueen and the assumption that she would have what to him was either a prisoner or traitor to humanity following her like a small child he lost track of him.
Alex yelped loudly as he felt a hand drop to his shoulder and on instinct whirled around then punched the human square in the side of the head making him let out a scream, the Nidoqueen let out a roar and started heading at full speed to the humans location giving Alex only 1 option to run.
He bolted at top speed taking his rifle off his back working the bolt to load another round, Alex saw the Nidoqueen as he turned kneeling on one knee rifle aimed right at her but it's the way she knelt over her human. She scooped up the human who had began to cry sobbing into the giants chest, Alex was terrified because if that man called it 'mummy' then that means he was dealing with a mother Nidoqueen making it more likely for him to be stomped into red paste.
She looked up from her human and right at Alex which sent the terror deeper into him, the look in her eye was like a plead to stop but Alex's brain was firing on all cylinders to him it felt like life or death. She raised a claw towards him and on pure adrenaline, terror and reflex Alex pulled the trigger filling the storeroom with the thunderous crack of his rifle.
The sound hurt his ears as the noise reverberated off the walls, his rifle quaked in his hands as he saw the bullet was squashed against the Nidoqueens forearm and dropped off showing no sign of damage.
Alex sprinted not caring where he was going went out the front into the shop itself, the light of the store was like a flashbang to his eyes but all around him more Pokemon of every kind many with humans dressed in clothes that varied from infantile garb to more normal looking casual clothes.
His breath caught in his chest cycling in a new round as he darted out from behind the counter, the crowd generally parted but some of the Pokemon and even some humans tried to make a grab for him. In a panicked scream of "DON'T!" he butted away the ones that tried to grab him with the butt of his rifle.
He made his way out of the store his mind only wanting to escape his breath was rapid and his heartbeat thumped in his chest, all he did was pick a direction that looked like it was away from the centre of town and started to run.
Lactic acid was starting to build in his legs and exhaustion was starting to catch up as he dodged both people and pokemon, clambered over obstacles like tables but really started to pick up the pace when he looked back.
Right behind him bounding towards him was a ball of fire and a ball of psychic might streaking at him, Alex turned a corner in a terror knowing that what ever hunters they usually send for humans they have stopped fucking around. Adrenaline fuelled him further but felt something on his right side hit him hard, his feet left the ground as he was sent across the road has he landed with a thud.
His head hit the road hard and he felt bones on his right side and the left of his head cracking with the sensation of blood beginning to pool, his limbs couldn't respond he could only stare as the approaching tram went over...