Sunday, January 31, 2010

Pokémon: The Golden Apocalypse, Chapter Nine

Carrying his pokémon, Red crashed through the underbrush, paying no heed to his direction. He hadn't dared to stay where the caterpie could still return, and despite Nyoromo's condition he couldn't afford to move slowly with night upon them. He had began to run with the intention of heading only a mile or so from his original position, but as he ran imagined terrors lunged from the forest about him, and he descended into a mindless panic. All he knew was he needed to get away. Away from the caterpie, away from the forest, away from the very night.
He ran like this for an hour, until he tripped over a tree root. He hit the ground painfully, and Nyoromo flew from his grip. Coming to his senses, Red tried to take a deep breath, but it caught in his throat. For a long moment, he couldn't breathe at all and his lungs screamed for air. Darkness crept in at the corners of his vision. Suddenly, the breath exploded from his lungs in a gust, and he inhaled deep draughts of the cool night air. The panic threatened to take him again as he couldn't seem to do anything but breathe, such was his need for air. Gradually, his gasping lessened. He was able to stand after a few minutes, though he fell against a tree as soon as he did. His legs quivered under his weight, and when he thought himself strong enough to take a step, he fell forward and vomited.
Once his stomach was empty, he continued to retch painfully. Once he was reasonably certain that he wasn't going to die, he rolled over and just laid on the ground. His legs ached and quivered, and Red might not have moved from that spot until morning had he not heard a plaintive "Wag." from somewhere nearby.
Red sat bolt upright. Nyoromo! The injured pokémon had been thrown aside in the fall. Red clambered to his feet, too worried to feel the fiery pain. He softly called out, "Nyoromo?" When no response came, he called louder, then louder still.
"Poli." The tremulous voice was nearly snatched by the faint breeze. Red made his way to where it came from. As he walked, the breeze grew. It only occurred to him how odd wind was in such a thick forest when he stepped past the treeline onto the edge of a cliff. The wind gusted past him, pulling at his clothes. Nyoromo was nowhere to be seen.
"Poli. Wag." Red's heart sank when he realized the sound came from past the cliff. He imagined his pokémon's broken body lying at the bottom of the drop. Red wasn't sure he could retrieve the poliwag, much less nurse it back to health. Not trusting his legs, he crawled to the brink and looked down. Five feet below, on a small, mossy outcropping, was Nyoromo. Fifty feet below the pokémon was a ruin.
They had found the Fallen Viridian.

7 comments:

Met said...

I want more! Great stuff!

Elphaba said...

I agree with Met, it's really good, but WHY DO YOU INSIST ON BEING SO MEAN TO NYOROMO?!?!? Sorry, I'm a softie when it comes to cute, small things, and it makes me sad when I read about him being hurt. :( But I'm glad he's okay.

Reogan said...

I am a cruel god, and I demand sacrifice. I demand payment in blood.

Elphaba said...

Hmmm. I should've expected a response like that.

Reogan said...

Yes, yes you should have.

Qupar said...

This is awesome, can't wait for next week. Gotta love pokemon.

Reogan said...

Pokémon. With an é. As in po-KAY-mon, not po-KUH-mon or po-KI-mon.