Trap

24

Thursday, May 11th, 1989

James felt the darkness all around him as he walked further down the narrow passageway. The soft groans in the distance got louder with each step he took. A dimmed torch burnt at what he hoped was the end of the passage. His stomach churned as the groans cleared up and were cries for help with clawing at the walls around the corner. James touched his head as the voice crept into his thoughts, consuming the screams for a moment. He felt his eyes sting as his head pounded. What is wrong with me? he thought and pressed his fingertips against the wall. His broken collarbone pounded; he could only imagine how bad it looked under the bandages.

Do you know who you are? How we got here?

James heard a clunk, like the sound of a pickaxe slamming into the rock behind him. He turned to face the sound and saw a figure dressed in a purple uniform with brown and blond hair pointing forward. Nervously, James walked over and glanced at the rock. James spun around and saw a beach. The waves crashed into the rocks in the sea and swept along the shoreline. His feet sunk into the sand, and he raised his arm to keep his balance. In the distance, he could see a wooden boat in pieces on the beach. He trudged through the sand until he got a better look at the shipwreck.

Poor innocent boy. You don't know. In 1665, a group of off-islanders came to the island now called Coltar. If only they had died that day or drowned in the vast sea. The Kishinirese people were surprised to see a merchant ship. Even I was surprised. We all rushed over with our pokémon to help the injured merchants. Little did we know letting them into our land, our home, would condemn hundreds of thousands of people to death.

James glanced around, unable to pinpoint who was speaking to him.

A hundred years prior we came to be. The day the Diamant de Kalos crashed upon the shores.

James felt washed over with a sudden nausea, as he stared around the large pit the corridor had opened up into. A young black woman in a long beige cloak sat at the far end. Her face had several markings on either side and on her forehead, an opened eye between the sun and the moon had been painted in charcoal dust. He narrowed his eyes. Who are you? He turned around to see a campfire surrounded by eighteen people.

The campfire puffed smoke up, and the grey swirls rose towards an open sky. James watched as the smoke cleared to reveal a man with black skin and brown eyes. His right eye had a slight golden speck in it. He stood topless, wrapping an injured man who had a sword on his belt in his shirt. James noticed the wounded man had large teeth marks on his back like a pokémon with two long fangs or horns hand attempted to impale him.

Bello knew what to do. He always did. When Igor Rett was born, things never changed.

James opened his mouth to speak and ask her a question, but his voice box closed up and felt tight. His words refused to escape his voice box. All he could do was extend his arm out to touch the shipwreck. The planks that held the ship together were chipped or missing in places. The jagged edges looked sharp enough to cause damage to any unfortunate soul colliding with it. As his fingers pressed into the wood, they left behind a scorched charcoal mark.

Of course, the knowledge of Bello didn't last forever. It was how the disaster came to be. The plague massacred the divided nations of Kishinir, Iciklan and Elmland. That is how the lost generation came to be, how I came to be.

James searched around himself for the woman who spoke but found himself running through the streets of what looked like his home town of Fehahra. He saw kids of seven or eight running around the street in tunics and old-fashioned dresses. His gaze locked onto them as their luxray and luxio chased them. Thud. He felt them smack into him, and he opened his mouth again to shout, but he felt his throat close up once again. He glanced up at the sky and placed his hand on his neck. However, when he looked down at the kids, he saw a wooden cart being dragged along by a sawsbuck. Its autumn leaves hung down off its antlers. His eyes left the sawsbuck as a pungent stench filled his nose, dragging his eyes to the contents of the cart covered by a tarp. However, a human arm had extended through the wooden barriers.

"Death to all off-islanders! It is all their fault!"

The hand from the outstretched arm grabbed James and pulled him backwards into the cart. He fell through the ground and tumbled back. He felt sick as he rolled and tossed around from side to side until the light all around him faded.

Wake up. You need to wake up.

James opened his eyes and looked around. His mouth had been stuffed with a cloth, and his hands and legs had been bound together with wired rope. Fuck, he thought as the pain from his broken collarbone shot through his body so viciously that he wanted to scream. He forced himself to sit up, and he shuffled back along the charcoal-coated floor, his fingers and feet brushing over countless charred skeletons until his back was against the wall of the pit. Above him, he saw a purple smog-like gas had formed.

"You were actually stupid enough to come alone," Hanson Rei said, his cold eyes peering down at James from the top of the pit. "And now you'll die here in this plague pit where you belong… It's a shame, really. If only you were conscious enough to realise your death." He stepped away from the edge and disappeared from view.

As Hanson Rei's cold voice rang out, James glanced around the pit. There are some soldiers down here? There must be around 70 or so… The soldiers lay unconscious and gagged; some had deep wounds across their bodies, and almost all of them had dried blood by their ears. We will all die down here. I am the only one awake… James squirmed into the sitting position and looked around.

Use my power, James. Call upon the pokémon, and I can set you free… for a price.

James glanced around, hoping to see a pokémon he recognised. Please… he thought as he squirmed in silence. He noticed a pokémon lumbering around higher up. A tree was growing on its back. Is that a torterra? There is no way… that means we must be near Fehahra still. Please… he thought. The stone hanging around his neck started to glow brown, and his bright red irises twisted into a brown. A sharp stabbing pain shot through his arm, but he held his breath, hoping not to scream and let his stepfather know he was awake.

Almost immediately, the torterra's eyes turned brown and it slid down into the pit, plodding over to James. He butted his head against James's, closing his eyes and waiting for a moment. He took a step back and lowered his head once again, rubbing the spikes attached to his chin on the ropes that had James bound.

James felt the rope fraying under the pressure, and he pulled it until he heard the quiet sound of the rope slumping down. Okay, now what? He blinked. When he opened his eyes again, the entire cave appeared to be in a grayscale all around him. Ugh, the pain is getting worse… James looked at his arm, which was bleeding. Wait… what's that? James slowly got up onto his feet. His footing threatened to slip with each step as he wobbled over each of the unconscious soldiers. In front of him, he could see a deeper green behind the wall.

Break it, James.

"Torterra, do you think you could use dig or something?" he whispered. It's a high-level torterra because it knows headlong rush. Only super-strong torterra learn that move. Also, we must be near the entrance to this cave, right? Torterra live in the forest and not in a cave.

Thud.

"No!" James shouted as the torterra used earthquake. Fuck! I should have been… a rock slammed into him as the chamber began to shake, causing ruptures in the cave. James looked at the unconscious soldiers. If I don't do something, they'll die.

"I hate Elktan, and I hate the soldiers. They are the enemy. They invaded us. They should die," James said with a voice that was not his own.

"Wait, no! What? Why would I even say that? I'm no murderer… even if I do hate them! What do I do?" James looked around, hoping someone would answer his question for him. However, the rumbling was the only sound breaking the silence. "Torterra, stop!" James shouted at the pokémon.

James's stomach squeezed and tightened as the large pokémon's head turned to face him. Something seemed different. The torterra opened its snapping mouth and lunged at James, and his vision normalised. His arm ached, but he snatched it back just before the jaw closed around him. If I send Okta out in here, I could kill someone… what do I do? James stumbled back, landing on the pile of unconscious soldiers. He looked over them quickly and rushed toward a familiar face.

"Sutton? You have to wake up! Sutton! You fucking jerk! Wake up! I'm scared…" James pleaded, shaking the unconscious sergeant.

The torterra lowered its head and began charging at James once again. His heart pounded, and he reached for Sergeant Sutton's poké balls. "I don't want to, but… I have no choice…" He pressed the button and held the poké ball steady, still unwilling to use his stepfather's gengar. Please be his electabuzz. James prayed; however, in front of him, a small sableye appeared.

The sableye reached forward with his pointy purple fingers and created a protective shield in front of himself and James. His pointy ears twitched as if noticing James's breathing for the first time. His gem-shaped eyes glistened before turning his attention back to the raging torterra.

James took a deep breath as his lungs filled with relief. I have to get out of here and get help, but I also have to protect the soldiers from the torterra. First thing is first, I need to get up onto that ledge where Hanson was. The thought of Hanson Rei being around still left a bitter taste in James's mouth, but he had no choice. Once I am safe, I can think… Wait… maybe I can wake Sutton up now. James hurried over to Sergeant Sutton again and started to shake him as the sound of the torterra battering and injuring the sableye filled the cave. With one last inch of desperation, James punched Sergeant Sutton as hard as he could in the stomach.

"Whoever you are, I'll kill you!" Sergeant Sutton blurted out in Elkrat as he opened his eyes. "H-… James? James, move!" He pushed James behind him as he tried to scramble to his feet; however, his feet wobbled on the floor, and he fell back down onto his knees. "Damn it!" he said in Elkrat. "James, I need you to take my sword and follow my instructions… okay?" Sergeant Sutton said in slurred Colrat.

"What?!" James shouted back. "No… I can't… This is my fault…" The words gushed out of his mouth like an unstoppable waterfall.

Hanson Rei's clapping filled the cave as he appeared atop the ledge. "So, you are awake. I suppose I'll now get the pleasure of killing you myself."

"Shit…" Sergeant Sutton muttered, forcing himself onto his feet. This is bad. SergeantSutton looked down and saw the other unconscious soldiers. Why am I the only one awake? I guess James woke me up – it doesn't matter now. I have to protect James, myself and the other unconscious soldiers. He looked up to the man, laughing, on the ledge. "I won't let you."

"Is that so, Elkran?" Hanson Rei responded.

He understands Elkrat? Sergeant Sutton drew his sword and glanced at James. "James, take my electabuzz, okay? His name is Vesx. He doesn't understand Colrat, but that's okay. He will protect you." He placed a poké ball in James's hand, sliding his hand over the blue cap.

The torterra roared and began charging towards them both.

"Sutton…" James whispered, but before he could stop himself, he grabbed his onix's poké ball. With a deep breath, he let go and let it drop back into his pocket. "I'm going to help you!" He took the gengar's poké ball and looked at it, and then the electabuzz's poké ball. "Alright, Vesx, let's er… do something!" James's eyes narrowed on the torterra. It isn't using headlong rush anymore. Is its energy to use that move all gone?

"James, look out!" Sergeant Sutton pushed him back against the wall. The ground beneath their feet started to shake, and the unstable rock wall came crashing down in front of them, sealing them off from the torterra. "That… was awful." Sergeant Sutton withdrew his sableye and looked at James. "James, you are bleeding! Are you hurt? Let me see!"

"I am fine," James snapped back, pushing him away. He took a deep breath and lunged forward, squeezing Sergeant Sutton as hard as he could. "I'm so scared… this is all my fault."

Sergeant Sutton grimaced at the thought of James blaming himself. How is this your fault? He wrapped his arms around James and said, "No, no, it's not. I'll look after you. Or, you'll look after me. You saved me, yes? That makes you a hero, at least to me. Let's forget about what happened and not worry about the other soldiers – we need to focus on us right now. We need to get out and get help. You know, James, you are a good kid. I know you get in trouble sometimes, and you like to push the rules, but…"

James pressed his head harder into Sutton's chest. "I made it angry… I'm sorry… Hanson Rei, he's going to come after us. We need to get ready." He let go and looked around the cavern, spotting a tiny slither of light that wasn't there before. Show me… he thought, and momentarily, the path ahead flickered in grey. "Um… I think we should go this way."