Chapter Forty-Six:
No White Flags
Disclaimer: I do not own the series Pokémon. Like, at all. It and all its respectable characters are © to Game Freak and Satoshi Tajiri. However, all writing contents and semi-plots here are © to me; unless it is stated otherwise. All shows/ books/ video games/ songs that are mentioned in this chapter are all © to their respective owners, I do not own them.
Notes: Apologies for the lengthy absence, things have been crazy at work lately! But I'm glad to finally have something to give to y'all! The survival course is coming to an end, and the gym challenge is back on track!
I know some anons have had a few things to say or complain about regarding Shay and her history, her anxiety and stress affecting her decisions (and sometimes, lack thereof). I did have quite a few things to say, but you know what? If you don't like what I write, then go write your own wet dream military character and base them all on Call of Duty or Battlefield while you're out of it. I don't have to justify anything, because it's clear the commenters have not served, and don't know jack shit about anything.
Of course, if you do want to continue this, then maybe do it when you have a real take and maybe take your ass off anon, and face me like a real person and not faceless cowardly little bitch.
Current Team: Keno the Swampert, Sela the Mightyena, Ambrose the Kirlia, Faye the Swellow, Nux the Gyarados, Gunner the Lairon
Badges Won: Stone Badge, Knuckle Badge, Dynamo Badge
Put an X on my chest, on my chest
But I'm still standing 'cause I won't forget
The hell on earth you put me through
I'll save myself in spite of you
Smoke, fire, it's all going up
Don't you know I ain't afraid to shed a little blood
Smoke, fire, flares are going up, flares are going up
Oh, won't wave my white flag, no
This time I won't let go
I'd rather die
Than give up the fight, give up the fight
Give up the fight, give up the fight
- "White Flag" by Bishop Briggs
"Shay! Where is she—SHAY!"
"Stop screaming, Keno—wait. Wait, I smell her, I smell—"
Keno paused, glancing down at Sela. She didn't answer him at first, only kept sniffing the air and then turned her nose down to the ground and sniffed there. The waiting stretched on, and his impatience finally hit its boiling point. "What? You smell what, Sela?"
Sela's ears flared back against her head. Keno waited for her to speak and the longer she didn't, the pricklier his nerves became. Shay wouldn't do this. She wouldn't just wander off or play some game like this. But the worry that another one of those dome things coming to take her elsewhere struck him in that moment and it was suddenly a lot harder to form words. What if she was gone, like Sela and Gunner had been? What if she'd gone home, or worse, somewhere they'd never be able to follow her? What if she had been taken away and they'd never see her again?
Keno wasn't one to lose his temper easily, but his patience where his trainer was concerned was at a breaking point.
"What do you smell, Sela?!"
She canted her head downwards, avoiding his gaze. "I smell her blood."
His heart skipped a beat as the horrifying realization sunk in. Blood. That meant something was wrong. That meant…
"Sh-she's hurt? We have to find her!"
Sela dipped her head down to the ground to sniff at it and chuffed before taking off. She shouted over her shoulder, "This way!"
Keno rushed after the Mightyena, but he wasn't as graceful as her. While she loped, he lumbered. He was more suited for swimming, not running on land, let alone running through the entangled undergrowth and uneven forest floor. He was secretly relieved when she finally slowed to a stop, and yet at the same time, he could feel his anxiety reaching a fever-pitch at the implications of her coming to a halt.
"Keno, get over here! She's here, but something's on top of her!"
He came to a lumbering halt, nearly toppling over as something long and tangled caught on one of his rear legs. He caught himself before he could slam his head into the ground. His gaze fell to what was laid out on the ground, at what Sela was staring hard at. Tawny- golden fur that was stained with bits of red patterns; a long tail; what looked like an arrow sticking out of its front side—and something in its jaws but…
It was a creature, something he's never seen before. Something deep down, however, told him it was definitively not a pokémon. It didn't smell right. It was almost…alien.
Then he noticed the smaller form just beneath the creature. His stomach dropped away as he realized what he was looking—a booted leg jutting out at the side from underneath, an arm braced at the neck of the animal as if to push it away, and the thing in its mouth, it was…
"No. No, no, no—"
"Shut up and help me move this thing off of her!"
Sela lunged for the scruff of the creature, intent on yanking it away. Keno stopped her with a sweep of his broad hand, pulling her back. She snarled at him, but stopped at the anxious, horrified look on his face.
"Wait, wait, wait! Sh-Shay's throat is stuck in its mouth! Don't do anything until we know if—if she's…sh-she's…"
She stopped fighting, and Keno waited before letting Sela down. She was tentative in her approach as doubt flashed across Sela's face, gently nosing the animal atop their trainer.
"It smells dead. That red stuff isn't a pattern on its fur, it's blood. I think she killed it."
"What about Shay?" Keno's voice sounded so small. He reached for her but stopped and withdrew his hand so quickly, as though he'd been burned. Sela dipped her head down, gently taking the creature's upper jaws into her own and pulled experimentally. It came without a fuss or spasm, like she'd been dreading. It really was dead, and not even fully stiff yet. The rest of the body followed and gracelessly slumped off to the side as Sela freed Shay from the body atop her.
Keno hesitated, wanting to pick her up, but at the same time, he was afraid of causing more harm than good. He prodded at her with the tips of his digits and jumped a little when a small sound escaped his trainer. Cautious elation warmed the iciness that had been pumping through him and he exchanged a look with Sela.
"She's alive—but…oh. Oh, no. Sela, that's a lot of blood. H-how much can a human lose before…?"
There was so much red on Shay's neck, shoulders, and the arm that had been braced against the creature, with gashes that were still oozing blood from them. There were cuts that had torn open her poncho down to her clothing, and that too had been cut through. It was just too much red. And yet, when he stared at just her face—thankfully free of blood spatters, now that the gentle rain was falling on her face—it was almost like she was sleeping.
"I don't know, Keno. But we need to get her to Basil or to town, or just—anybody who can help her!" Sela snapped, smacking a paw on the ground in emphasis, glowering at him like he was being particularly thick. Maybe he was, but could Sela really blame him?
"Ambrose. He can get her to town, he can use Teleport—go back to camp and find him!"
"Or, you can just call him with that fish brain of yours. I can't. I'm a dark-type, remember? He won't hear me like he'll hear you or Shay." Sela spat out the words, her muzzle pulling into a grimace.
"Right. Right. I-I can do that." Keno faltered in reaching for Shay, once more nervous about harming her more, but threw that caution to the wind. Standing there and doing nothing wasn't going to get his trainer help any faster. He carefully pulled Shay into his arms and cradled the young woman. Her head lolled against his chest, and she let out another small groan. The rain was beginning to wash away some of the blood from her clothing, her wounds. She didn't look better, but she didn't look any worse, either.
He's never really had to call for Ambrose before, not in the same way that Shay and Ambrose spoke with one another without even speaking aloud. He found it a strange and unnatural way to communicate…but he had to try. He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the world around him.
Ambrose…? Ambrose, can you hear me?
Silence in his head, and the sounds of the rain falling around him, were the only things to answer him. He tried a second and third time, but heard—felt—nothing. He was growing frustrated with the lack of response, worried that he was wasting precious time that could be better served making for camp, and from there, the human town Shardust.
"I can't…he's not hearing me, Sela. I-I don't know if he even can."
"Keep trying! We shouldn't move her around too much; I think it'd make things worse." Sela didn't sound as sure, either. Gently, he pulled her closer to him, afraid that she'd disappear if he didn't keep a tight hold on her.
Ambrose! Ambrose, can you hear me? Please! Shay's hurt—
Keno jolted at the sudden flare of pain that burst through his skull. It was so abrupt and intense, he nearly dropped Shay as it swiftly rippled outwards through his entire body. Every nerve in his body was on fire, even when he knew it was impossible, he wasn't anywhere near any fire—
'STAY WHERE YOU ARE.'
As quickly as Ambrose's voice had jammed itself into his head, it was gone again and with it, the pain dissipated. Sela circled him, her face pinched in a worried grimace.
"Keno? Keno, talk to me, what's happening?"
"H-He's coming, get ready—"
Keno was cut off from a sudden discordant burst of energy and light that blinded the both of them. A swelling of Ambrose's psychic energy hit them like a tidal wave a few split seconds later. Sela merely grumbled despondently, but a roil of sick overcame Keno. He could feel his gorge rising up in his throat, threatening to overwhelm him and upchuck what food he had left in his system. He swallowed hard against the sensation and cracked his eyes open to see Ambrose standing before him.
A hard line of psychic aura shimmered around him, his cervine muzzle pulled into a snarl while his blind eyes seemed to focus on Keno. That stomach-roiling sensation overcame him again as Ambrose closed the distance between them.
"What. Happened?" He ground out the words between clenched teeth, his pale fur bristling. Keno flinched at the echo inside his head of Ambrose's voice, as if he was hearing double. Sela stepped forward, intercepting the Kirlia. He came to a halt barely a few inches from colliding into her.
"Something attacked her. It…it wasn't a pokémon. But we can talk about this later. Right now, you need to get her to town. She's hurt pretty badly."
Ambrose's muzzle rose upwards again, revealing his disturbingly sharp dentition, eerily much too similar to the teeth Sela was packing. "Keno, hold on tight to her. Sela…"
"I know. You can't Teleport me. I'll keep an eye on camp and on the others. Just get her somewhere safe."
Shay woke up to the sound of an EKG machine beeping and the mild scent of antiseptic and bleach. It crawled and soaked into her lungs, lingering in a mildly nauseous way. Shay winced as she tried to roll onto her side and stretch herself. A flare of sharp, needle-like pain stabbing into her upper torso so suddenly it made her gasp.
She heard the rapid scuffle of a chair scuffing linoleum flooring. Shay cracked her eyes open and blinked a few times when she saw it was Basil coming to her side.
"Oh, thank Arceus. You're awake."
She groaned at the bright lights overhead and groaned out, "Did anyone get the license plate of the fucking truck that hit me and ran?"
In spite of the worry on his face, Basil cracked a small smile. "Your sense of humour is still intact. I'd say that's a good sign."
Shay tested her other arm and found it lacking the sharp pains that her other side had presented and managed to pull herself into an upright position. Similarly, she wriggled her feet, finding them to be functional.
"Where am I?"
"The clinic in Shardust. You took on a lot of damage from whatever you were hunting. It wasn't a deer, though. That much is for sure."
That made sense. Shay glanced off to her left and saw a few IV banana bags hanging off an IV pole, feeding directly into the crook of her left arm. A few other machines were relegated to the corner just behind that, monitoring her other vitals. She returned her attention to Basil.
"It…it looked like a…" Shay clenched her jaw shut before she could say something incriminating, swallowing down the words. She thought for a moment before settling for a vague description. "I-it looked like some sort of a-a big cat. Tawny fur, long tail, big teeth, wicked claws."
"I saw it. I went back to check on the area. It looked almost like a Persian, but…there was something off about it. I already arranged to have the authorities pick up the body for examination. But, not before getting that second deer back to your camp and calming down your team. They were pretty worried, the lot of them."
Basil gave her a conspiratorial wink and a reassuring smile.
"They're okay?"
Every time she spoke, her neck hurt. It wasn't her throat, that much she could discern. This was different; an external injury of some sort. Her mounting concern for her team overrode her discomfort or pain, however.
"As okay as they can get. I think your Gyarados looked about half-ready to smash everything in sight, but your Mightyena seemed to calm things down, somehow. At least, that was the impression I got."
Basil backed up and pulled the chair to meet him halfway as he resumed his seat beside her bed. "You don't realize how lucky you are, do you?"
Shay watched him for a moment, before taking into account the state of her arm—the one that was still hurting. It was covered in bandages and when she lifted her free arm to her neck, she felt the material of more gauze beneath her fingers.
"Do you know how close that thing was to tearing your throat out? The doctor said if its teeth had sunk into your neck just a few centimeters over, your carotid would have been torn and you'd have bled out before any of your pokémon found you, let alone get you back to town. And that's not even taking into account the lacerations on your left arm, but…I guess someone up there likes you enough to keep you around."
"How bad?" Shay responded, turning to look at the concerned face still watching her. Basil frowned, hesitation presenting itself on his face before he found the right words to answer her with.
"Badly enough that their resident healing Chansey couldn't fix everything. You still have some lacerations, but they're not as deep and won't take as long to heal. They did have to stitch up a few of the wounds, but the doctor said that they used dissolvable ones, so you won't have to come back in to get those removed. And you'll have quite a few scars by the end of this."
Shay sighed and shook her head as she sunk back into the pillow. "Add it to the collection. Not much I can do about it now. Is my team still back at my campsite?"
"I brought them here. They're all in your bag, save for those two." Basil replied, nodding to her other side. Shay winced, gritting her teeth as she turned her head and saw Ambrose leaning on the bed, head cushioned by his arm, clearly sleeping. Shay pushed herself further upright and reached for Ambrose's hand, clasping it in her own. He groaned quietly but didn't stir further than that. Curled on the ground between her hospital bed and the wall behind the chair Ambrose perched on was Keno. He too appeared to be sleeping.
"They wouldn't leave your side, even when the nurses tried to make them. Your Swampert was especially adamant about staying in here and outside its pokéball."
"Sounds about right," Shay replied, rolling her head over to look at Basil. She tested her bandaged arm, stretching it out. It twinged a few times, but overall, it wasn't as bad as she originally thought. She probably had painkillers to thank for the lack of discomfort.
"Can I get discharged soon?"
"You—what? No. No, the doctor said you need to stay here a few more days, at minimum—"
"I'm not failing this course because of a few scratches. I'll heal just fine back at my camp."
"Miss Courier—"
"Shay. My name is Shay, when it's just us, Basil. And I'm not ready to throw in the towel."
"You didn't let me finish. You're going to pass, regardless of this setback."
She blinked at the man, brows beetling together, not quite comprehending what he'd just said. "…what?"
"I've already spoken with Morgan about the situation at hand. She made the executive decision to allow you to pass, given your encounter and injuries, but also for your extensive progress over the entire course load." Basil's smile faded slightly. "How did you kill that thing, by the way? I saw the arrow in its chest, but…"
"I had to stab it with my knife when my arrow didn't do the job. I'm sure the necropsy will confirm that was cause of death. Or at least contributed to it."
Basil nodded.
"Mm. I'll keep that in mind."
Shay waited, until she no longer had the energy to uphold her bravado and slumped against her pillows in exhaustion. She glanced at Ambrose and Keno again, still slumbering where they lay.
Basil cleared his throat, drawing her attention back to him.
"I should head out and update Morgan, now that you're awake. I'm sure she'll want to pay you a visit as well."
"Basil, wait—wait a minute. Please, I can't just…sit here doing nothing. Isn't there a way to supplement the remainder of the course?"
The older man hesitated, mouth pulling into an uncertain frown.
"You wouldn't be 'doing nothing', Shay. You'd be resting, healing up. The clinic's resident Chansey healed most of your injuries, especially the more critical ones, but you're in no condition to be up and about just yet. And you'll run the risk of setting your own progress back if you leave prematurely." Basil's expression softened. "If you don't take care of yourself, how can you expect to take care of your pokémon?"
She didn't have an answer for that. Shay dropped her gaze to her hands pooled in her lap. She dug her fingers into the blanket draped over her, clutching the material tightly.
"You're going to pass. Just remember that. And the second course you've signed up for will begin in less than a week. That should be enough to give your body some time to heal and get back on your feet."
Shay wanted to keep arguing, to buck the option of staying put. Fatigue, however, had a vise-like grip upon her, making even blinking or moving her head a herculean effort. Slowly, she sank back against the hospital bed once again, her shoulders slumping. She glanced at Ambrose and Keno, grudgingly acknowledging that he was right.
How in the hell was she supposed to take care of her team when she barely had the energy for this conversation, never mind finishing the course? The smartest and most strategic choice was the simplest one: stay put and heal. Trying to muscle her way out of the clinic and put on a macho show wasn't going to accomplish her anything except complications in her recovery. She's seen one too many of her fellow Marines ignore medical advice—more often than not at the demands of someone with more rank and weight to throw around, who didn't care about them in the least and even sought to sabotage their juniors—and they ended up worse off as a result. "Suck it up, buttercup and don't be a bitch," mentalities have ended up leading to health detriments and complications farther down the line.
It was that same mentality from higher ups that had led up to her needing two left hip surgeries three years apart and counting.
"Fine, Basil. I'll…I'll stay."
But only for my team's sake, she thought, her eyes sliding closed. She wasn't a solo act, after all.
The sky that hovered above Shay was so wide and unwieldy, like some great bloated beast that threatened to crash to the earth and crush beneath its mass. Yet, there was something else that was menacing about it. Like it was going to lunge down upon her and swallow her whole into its wild, hot blue expanse. She was so exposed, out here in the open grassy plains. It was only broken in its otherwise flat monotony by sparse cover, slightly raised hillocks, small trees, and the occasional field of long grass. In the distance, much too far to reach for cover, for safety, stood the crown of an immense mountain as it towered over the area.
But there was something off-putting about that far off place as well. It was yet another beast, lying in wait to pounce. A vortex of cloud cover swirled along its apex, while a dark light clung to its position directly above the mountaintop. None of it looked like any storm she's encountered, and something told her it wasn't one altogether, not a natural one. Even from this distance, Shay swore she could hear it booming like thunder, could feel it reverberating down to her marrow. All of this felt wrong, unnatural.
Just looking at it made her stomach churn with revulsion while her heart pounded against the backs of her ribs anxiously. Everything inside her was telling her run, that all she can do at this point was run. She had to escape this place.
Before she could move, let alone twitch a muscle into action, the ground beneath her gave way and swallowed her into its embrace. The sky shivered above her as she tumbled downwards, the air rushing from her chest and leaving her breathless. By the time she could finally draw breath, could utter a sound beyond sharp gasps, she was much too far from the surface. Strangely, she felt no wind or sound at all as she fell, other than her panic-stricken breathing.
The pinprick of the sky above rapidly rushed further and further away from her as she fell into the blackness below, until it seemed to disappear completely. But it wasn't a true plunge into darkness. There was a murky quality to the space she was freefalling in, subliminally lined with dusky shapes in the distance.
Far off from where she was, something flashed, not unlike lightning bottled up behind layers of storm clouds. It gave her very little detail beyond the amorphous shapes that her mind could only fill in the blanks to. It was in that moment she realized she was no longer falling, but floating. Her trajectory still had her going down (or whatever the equivalent of 'down' was here), but now it was at a more sedate, almost weightless, pace.
Her lonesome company was brief, unfortunately for her. Something was moving out there in the deep and dark. Something big that moved with terrifying grace and ease within this realm or pocket dimension or—or whatever the hell this place was.
She felt like she'd seen it before, once upon a time, but…she didn't outright remember anything like this place. And yet, it nagged at her subconsciously, and she struggled to fit a correlation to work off with. The vague familiarity of this place wasn't reassuring, however dusty or faded the recollection may be.
Shay shivered at the suddenly intrusive sound of guttural clicking, sending goosebumps to spread across her flesh and the hair at the back of her neck to stand at attention. The clicking sounds were punctuated by low and rumbling groans, coming from a being of immense size. She couldn't place where it was, but she knew it was getting closer.
A bolt of muted light chose that moment to strike, and it gave her a better idea of what was lurking in the darkness. She wished it hadn't. She wished that she had remained blissfully ignorant of the being that had, effectively, hemmed her in with its gargantuan and lengthy body. She had only caught a fleeting glimpse of its head, but the dim twilight settled back into place and all she had left were ideas of what she thought she saw.
None of them boded well.
The clicking sound returned in full force, and she also wished that she was on solid ground and could flee or defend herself, somehow—anything to keep from feeling so damned helpless. The sound reverberated in the air around her, making everything shudder violently, inside and out. The noise rang mercilessly within her ears, and Shay clapped her hands over them in a vain attempt to protect them.
Another flash illuminated the gloom—and she wished it hadn't.
The face that looked down upon her in its entirety was suddenly before her. A golden crowned and horned helm with jutting jaws packed full of teeth glinted in what not-light there was. Writhing appendages that seemed to move independently only added to the terrifying image. This was all packed atop a powerfully long and coiling snake-like body that seemed never-ending in its length. Blazing wisps of red smoke curled into the ethereal space from the being's body, like little red ribbons that glowed for much longer than seemed possible.
Scarlet eyes leered at her as the clicking noise boomed in the air around her, slow and deliberate. The armoured jaws worked up and down, revealing its cavernous maw. That too was steeped in the same, ethereally lit red glow as the smoke that wafted off of its body.
"Welcometh, little mortal, to mine own realm."
The voice boomed all around here and Shay dug her fingers deeper into the side of her head, trying and failing to protect her ears from the sound. She was so tired of her ears, and by extension her head, hurting on a consecutive basis.
"What didst thee sayeth to me at which hour we lasteth see one another? Ah, aye…"
The head jutted forward, closer, until that leering face was all that Shay could see. Her entire frame grew taut and rigid, and she couldn't move even if she wanted to.
"'COMETH DOWN HERE AND FIXETH THY MESS!'"
The voice cracked like thunder, striking her through and through. She was frozen, unable to move, to breath, to do much of anything beyond stare in horror as those jaws yawned open wide and rushed toward her with a deafening scream. She found a momentary ounce of strength, abrupt and brief though it was. The words tumbled out of her before she had even thought of them.
"FUCK YOU!"
The being's lunge halted midair, and those massive jaws snapped closed, leaving her in full view of the scarlet eyes that bore down on her. The clicking returned, quicker-paced and at a lower, tolerable frequency. The crowned skull tilted to the side, almost reminiscent of a dog trying to puzzle together what was happening before it. There was a strange sense of…curiosity emanating from the gargantuan being.
A shuddering breath escaped her, and when it did, something else came crawling back into her: baseless and blind courage. She curled her hands into fists at her sides, her whole body still trembling—she wasn't sure if it was the absence of heat, lingering remnants of fear, or something else entirely—but she felt more grounded. It was a relief that flooded her, to be able to find her voice and feel something beyond blinding terror. Indignation and even rage were rekindling her nerves to say something, anything.
"I'm not your fucking plaything! None of us are! I had a life! You all tore me away from my friends, my family, everything! You took EVERYTHING from me! I want to go home!"
Her fears were quickly replaced by indignation and anger that burned everything else away. She barely registered the tears that streaked down her cheeks as she glowered at the giant that still loomed before her. Once again, the staccato clicking slowed into a more subdued pace as the beast seemed to consider her. Then the sounds increased in rapidity and grew deeper in tone. The twitching appendages that were still cast within the gloom twitched sporadically along the beast's backside. It took her a moment to realize that the thing was laughing at her.
"Oh, little hero. But thou art our plaything to doth with what we shall. Thee just realizeth not yet."
She struggled to parse through the dialect the beast was speaking, but when she finally gathered a gist of its meaning, she paled. The fear began to creep back in.
Those glowing scarlet eyes kept her leveled with a hard stare while snapping its jaws in short, clipped motions. She thought it was priming itself to lunge for her once more, but then all sounds from the beast went silent and it twisted its serpentine body to peer behind it. Shay shuddered when she caught sight of the segmented appendages that twitched, seemingly independent of one another. It reminded her too much of insects or arachnids.
A thunderous shriek pierced the darkness, something wholly different in pitch and timbre from the beast before her. Shay thought she saw another flash of light, this one much brighter than any of the others had been in this dark realm. The beast growled, and the baritone timbre of it shuddered through her, right down to her bones. The beast roared in return, a cacophonous sound that made her nauseous and disoriented all at once.
"Until we meeteth again, little hero."
The last glimpse she had of that dark realm was one that lit it all up and another monstrous beast bathed in pure light charged to clash against its dark, serpentine foe. Shay squeezed her eyes shut, raising her hands to shield herself from the harsh light.
The falling sensation overtook her once more, leaving her breathless until her back struck against a soft surface. When she opened her eyes again, she was back in the dimly-lit clinic recovery room and the sound of an EKG machine was beeping rapidly in tune with her heartbeat, sounding eerily too similar to the clicking of the dark beast she had just spoken with.
Additional Notes: Space and time are wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey, Jeremy Bearimy stuff. Curse you, pokémon gods and all your bat-shit bullshit!
