A Life Yet Lived - Chapter 2
#4 of A Life Yet Lived
--Chapter 2: A Captive of Confusion --
Tomas still couldn't believe what was happening to him. Just when he'd thought that things couldn't possibly get any more confusing in this bizarre fantasy, something much, much worse had appeared.
This strange dream of his was quickly becoming a nightmare.
The Houndoom crouched low in the grass, its sharp eyes darting back and forth between the two startled Pokemon before finally settling on Tomas. It growled again, louder this time, and tilted its head downward, curved horns primed like a bull preparing to maul some hapless slob to death.
'Oh, great. Looks like I'm that hapless slob,' Tomas thought, feeling sullen again. 'How lucky for me.'
"Ah, Houndoom!" Cyndaquil spoke up, nervous at first, "Y...you...what are you doing here?"
"So...uh, one of your friends?" Tomas whispered anxiously, leaning closer to her.
"If, by 'friend,' you mean that I'm utterly terrified of him...then yes."
The Houndoom moved around the bushes and onto the dirt path, snarling at the small Umbreon. Even from a distance, it seemed to loom dangerously over Tomas, an air of peril clinging to it like a bitter scent. The horned beast was easily three times the Umbreon's size, and it wasn't very difficult to imagine a Pokemon with that much of a size difference viewing him as its next meal.
Tomas took several steps back, eyes widened in a mix of surprise and fear.
"This has nothing to do with you, Cyndaquil!" Houndoom growled, "I'm here for the Umbreon."
Cyndaquil moved to the Umbreon's side, paws spread out in a defensive gesture. "What do you want with Tomas? He's with me!"
"Uh, hey there," Tomas said, taking another step backward, "N...nice Houndoom...good boy! I don't want any trouble here."
At that, Houndoom took a step forward, baring his fangs. "Is that supposed to be some kind of joke, you little runt? Are you mocking me?"
"What? I--"
"Only my master talks to me like that! What, you think you're my master, now? Well, speak up, you worthless sack of fluff!"
Even Cyndaquil winced at Houndoom's last remark, and she inched a bit closer to the recoiling Umbreon.
'Crap!' Tomas thought as he stood frozen, heart pounding in his chest, 'I forgot that I'm a Pokemon too in this dream! Not good!'
"N..no!" he corrected quickly, "I didn't mean it like that!"
"Shut down! You're coming with me, right now!"
"Wait, you don't--" Tomas paused, and then stared incredulously at the Houndoom, who still seemed to be completely serious. "S...shut...down?"
Houndoom snorted at the Umbreon in disdain. "Yeah! It means stop talking! What, are you too stupid to understand what I'm saying? Do you see me talking? It means you do the opposite!"
'Well, okay then...' Tomas thought, trying hard to keep a straight face, '...This Houndoom...might be an idiot.' _ Despite his own cynical impulses, Tomas already knew that the best course of action for a dangerous situation like this was to simply _let it go...but still...
Tomas caught a glimpse of Cyndaquil out the corner of his eye, glaring at him and vigorously shaking her head, face laden with worry. Every single warning bell in his mind was going off, yelling at him to just keep his mouth shut. But still...
...that Houndoom did just insult him. Several times, in fact. Shouldn't he have the right to get a word or two in as well? After taking a moment to study the vicious, snarling beast that now stood before him, Tomas quickly answered his own question with a resounding no. Dream or not, he would have to let this one slide.
Unfortunately, before he knew what was happening, those cynical impulses kicked in.
"Uh, I think you got that phrase wrong," Tomas blurted out, "You're supposed to say 'shut up.'"
For a few seconds, there was a brief silence throughout the entire area, followed by the muffled sound of Cyndaquil slapping her own forehead in exasperation. Houndoom just stared at Tomas, a look of genuine surprise crossing his face. "What, really?"
Sensing that small hint of weakness in the Houndoom, Tomas just couldn't help himself. He chuckled inwardly, and continued tempting fate. "Oh, you mean you didn't know? Wow, for someone who likes calling other people stupid, you're pretty dim yourself! Tell me, were you dropped on your head as a baby, or do those giant horns suck all the nutrients from your brain?!"
Cyndaquil gasped, paws clasped over her mouth while the Houndoom looked at Tomas with both eyebrows raised, apparently still digesting that last comment. It was only about 2 seconds later that a vicious howl tore from his muzzle, and Houndoom crouched into a battle stance, ready to rip apart the little Umbreon that insulted him.
Tomas had never seen a Pokemon actually tremble with rage before. He could only hear unintelligible growls and whines coming from the between Houndoom's clenched fangs. Smoke was literally streaming from his nostrils, filling the air with the horrid smell of ash and molten rock. But, strangely enough, while some part of his mind was screaming at him to run away, to escape the horrible monster that he'd so blatantly enraged, Tomas couldn't help but find the whole ordeal somewhat...hilarious.
'Wow, I really messed up this time,' Tomas thought, taking another hesitant step backward, 'But, wait...this is a dream, isn't it? I can't possibly be in any real danger, right? So...'
"Use your words, Houndoom!" he shouted out, stifling the urge to laugh, "Your words!"
Cyndaquil ran in front of Tomas and began shoving him away from the fuming Pokemon. "Uh, Tomas...I think you'd better...um, run! I'll try to distract him!"
"Why? This is just a dream, after all, so--"
"Tomas, please! Just run!"
"O-okay, I'm going!" Tomas turned tail and dashed full speed down the dirt path, hoping that his paws wouldn't fail him this time. That tiny hope was shattered when he tripped over a stray fallen branch and tumbled into a heap on the ground again.
"Damn it!" he cried out, scrambling to get back upright.
He froze as a searing heat passed over his tail and back, making his skin crawl beneath his fur. For several seconds, Tomas wasn't entirely sure what was happening, until he saw a literal volley of flaming rock and ash sail over his head, scorching the thin fur around his long ears. The smoldering mass continued above the dirt trail ahead of him for several feet before exploding against an unfortunate tree, sending splinters and chunks of timber in all directions.
Time almost seemed to halt while Tomas stared, mouth agape, at the large crater that was left in the smoking tree trunk. "W...what?"
'That was...Ember, wasn't it?' he thought, shaken._ 'Did...did that Houndoom just try to kill me?'_ Tomas made an uneasy glance over his shoulder at the Houndoom, who was still glaring at him ferociously, smoke pouring from his muzzle._ 'Yeah, that sounds about right. If I hadn't tripped and fallen over right at that moment, that crater could've been me!' _
The mere thought of it sent a shiver down the Umbreon's spine. And that intense heat from the Ember attack...it almost felt...he could've sworn that it felt...
...that it felt...real!
But, it couldn't be real...could it?
Tomas tried to calm himself down as the world seemed to spin around him. He didn't know what was happening here, but one thing was certain: he wasn't sticking around long enough to find out. He struggled back onto his paws, and then broke into a frenzied dash down the dirt path towards the town. 'This has to be a dream!'
"Get back here, you stupid little runt!" Houndoom roared as he gave chase, "GET BACK HERE!"
Cyndaquil stood there dumbfounded, watching as the two Pokemon sped off into the distance and out of sight, choking on the swirling dust cloud they left behind.
"Well," she muttered between hacking coughs, "That could've gone better."
Sara leaned against a tall oak tree and wiped her brow with a thick auburn handkerchief.
"This...isn't going our way, is it?"
Jane took a weary glance around the forest before replying with a sullen, "Ty."
Sara had long since become accustomed to being generally unlucky, but this latest setback was utterly ridiculous. She had been wandering through the forest surrounding Twinleaf Town for the past 30 minutes in hopes that a Pokemon, at least one, would show up around her. Not a single one appeared. This, of course, was made worse by the fact that she could actually hear the various chirps, clicks, and calls of Pokemon that were nearby. Those sounds hadn't ceased for a single second since Sara took her first step in this horrible little forest!
It almost seemed like all of the Pokemon in the immediate area were actively trying to avoid her.
...but, why would they want to do that?
'Maybe they heard about how unlucky I am,' Sara thought, frowning, 'I'd avoid me, too.'
She pushed off the tree she'd been leaning against and walked to the middle of the dirt path, brushing the dust from her jeans. Surprisingly, the dusty trail wasn't nearly as direct as she'd imagined. It seemed to twist and turn through the forest, around trees and large overlaying rocks. The path was wide enough to allow several people and their Pokemon to walk side-by-side comfortably, and was lined with thick, neatly trimmed bushes that, more than likely, had been planted by hand.
"Okay, this path should be a straight shot between the lake and the town..." Sara sighed before continuing, "...so let's head to the lake next. If we don't find anything over there, then we'll just have to--"
"Turt! Twig!"
Sara almost jumped out of her skin when a Turtwig scrambled around her legs and leapt into a nearby bush, grinning brightly. "What the--! Who's--?" She turned around in time to spot the small Pokemon sticking its head out from behind the bush. "Oh, it surprised me! It's a Turtwig!"
It beamed at her before disappearing into the bushes with a cheerful, "Turt!"
Jane tugged on the arm of Sara's jacket with a paw, trying to get her attention. "Ty! Typhlos!"
"What? What is it?"
"Typhlosion!" Jane replied, pointing towards the bush where the Turtwig had vanished, "Typhlos! Typhlos!"
"Okay, I get it," Sara said with a determined grin, "Finally, some action! Come on, Jane! Let's catch him!"
"Ty!"
And with that, the young trainer charged through the bushes, Pokeball clenched tightly in hand, and Typhlosion hot on her heels.
Tomas struggled through the thick undergrowth, cursing his own sharp tongue. Why did he have to go and make the vicious fire-breathing monster mad?
He could barely see anything with all the leaves and thin branches brushing against his eyes and muzzle, so he resigned himself to simply pushing blindly forward, hoping for escape. Tomas had begun to feel faint as he fought to maintain his composure, his pounding heartbeat almost painful in his chest. To make matters worse, the thick scent that these leaves gave off was starting to sting his nose and eyes again. He fought down another sarcastic comment, and tried to ignore the smell for the moment. It was his own fault anyway.
"Okay, calm down, Tomas," he muttered to himself between ragged breaths, "Panicking won't solve anything. This could still be a dream. An intense, lucid, and very vivid dream, or maybe some kind of powerful hallucinogen."
It was a good thing for Tomas that the dirt trail was a winding path from the town to the lake, lined with trees and bushes that could severely limit one's visibility. Otherwise, he might not have had the chance to slip out of Houndoom's line of sight long enough to veer off-trail and dive into a nearby shrub. The lumbering, blood-thirsty beast had charged right past him without a second glance, continuing down the path before eventually fading into the distance. Even in spite of his current problems and an almost overwhelming sense of confusion, Tomas couldn't help but feel a tinge of satisfaction at this small victory.
'I can't believe I actually lost him,' he thought with a relieved sigh, 'That Houndoom really is pretty stupid."
Still, it was only a matter of time before that psychotic beast had calmed down enough to start tracking Tomas by scent, and he needed to be long gone--or hopefully awake--by then. He gingerly pushed through the thin branches with his muzzle until he finally caught a whiff of fresh air. With renewed enthusiasm, Tomas crawled the rest of the way out of the bushes and stepped onto a small clearing of tall grass and flowers, surrounded by trees.
"Finally made it!" he thought aloud, pausing to rub his irritated nose with a paw. "Ugh...okay...where am I now?"
The Umbreon couldn't see the dirt path anymore, not even through the thick bushes he had just crawled through. And since the path was the only part of forest that he knew anything about, it was safe to assume that he was lost. 'Okay, this is probably not a good thing,' he reasoned, 'but at least I'm not in any immediate danger...'
"Sweet! You have an awesome Chimchar, man. I'll trade you a Starly for it."
"No way, dude. This one's going to be my secret weapon, after I finish training it."
'Ah...crap.'
There were two Pokemon trainers standing in the clearing just a few feet away from Tomas, apparently gearing up for a battle. One of the trainers, an enthusiastic teen with a green bandana on his head, had been ranting on about how great his Chimchar was. The Chimchar, of course, was sitting right there staring up at his master, eyes beaming with pride. The other trainer, a younger boy with blond hair, was listening intently, captivated by the older trainer's words. A Pichu was clinging tight on his shoulder, squeaking happily.
Tomas had been so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even realize that they were there until they'd started talking again. That was becoming a dangerous habit of his. Thankfully, they hadn't noticed him yet.
Almost on impulse, Tomas slunk into the shadows of a nearby tree, where he watched them with growing concern. Obviously, going through that clearing wasn't such a good idea. Heading back the way he came wouldn't work out, either. It took too much effort just to crawl through the bushes the first time, and he'd run the risk of wearing himself out before finding the dirt path again.
The Umbreon recoiled from his own thoughts. "That doesn't even make sense! Why I am getting tired in a dream! I don't understand any of this!"
He glanced at the bushes behind him, his red-tinted eyes following the row of undergrowth until he noticed a small gap about 20 feet to the right, partially obscured by a set of tall oak trees. If he moved along these bushes and reached that opening, he could probably sneak away without being seen by the trainers. Afterwards, he could find his way back to the dirt path, and Cyndaquil. She was the only person--or Pokemon, to be accurate--that he could trust at the moment, and if he couldn't wake up from this nightmare, then he should at least be around someone he could call a friend.
Tomas crept around the surrounding bushes, leaping from shadow to shadow, praying that those trainers wouldn't find him. Even though he still believed this to be a dream, Tomas couldn't help but be afraid; something in the back of his mind seemed to insist that, dream or not, being captured was a very, very bad thing. Whatever it was, the feeling was almost...instinctive. And he believed it.
Meanwhile, the trainer with the green bandana on his head kept talking. "...yeah, the Chimchar is a great Pokemon to use for close range battles. And with my Piplup and Cranidos, I've got a pretty balanced team!"
"Man, you have a Cranidos, too?" the younger trainer asked in amazement, "Where did you find that Pokemon?"
"Well, it wasn't easy, that's for sure! It all started when I was wandering this cave..."
Tomas was so close to his goal! If he could just reach those trees...
He crouched low to the ground, eyes darting nervously from his destination to the trainers as he moved, careful not to make a sound. _'I'm almost there. Just a little bit further...' _
Tomas shot a quick glance at the trainers, and then froze when the trainer with the green bandana turned around and spotted him, their eyes meeting for a few painful seconds. The teen's words trailed off mid-sentence as he stared in the Umbreon's direction, hands raised slightly.
'Please, don't say anything!' Tomas pleaded mentally to the trainer, _'Please! Just ignore me! Just pretend I don't exist!' _
His hopes sunk when the teen did a double-take and pointed at him. 'Damn it!'
"Oh wow, that's a Umbreon!"
"What? An Umbreon? Where?"
"Over there! I just saw it moving in front of that bush!"
Tomas just stared, looking especially pitiful while the green-bandana teen reached into his backpack and produced a Pokeball.
"Chimchar, go get it!"
Tomas opened his mouth and urgently tried to tell them to stop, that he wasn't some nameless Pokemon they could just catch and own. Unfortunately, the only thing they heard was, "Um...Umbreon! Breon!"
"Chimchar, use Ember!"
'Oh, great! Not this crap, again!' _ Tomas broke into a sprint as chunks of flaming rock exploded around him. One rather large piece sailed mere inches in front of his head as he ran, sending a burst of searing heat over his eyes and muzzle, almost making him stumble and fall over before he reached the trees. "Breon! Um, eon _breon!"
"Come back!" Tomas heard the younger trainer shout. Ignoring him, the Umbreon dived through the gap in the bushes, and kept running. Dream or not, there was no freaking way he was going to end up as somebody's property!
The green-bandana trainer was the first to reach the opening, Pokeball in hand. "This one's all mine, kid! Go find your own Umbreon to catch!"
"Not a chance! You already have your 'balanced' team, and your Chimchar! Let me get this one! Pichu, use Thundershock!"
The ground behind Tomas exploded in a blinding flash as lightning stuck the ground where he'd once stood seconds ago, leaving his ears ringing. He pushed harder, running with everything he had, not even bothering to check and see if they were still chasing him. As if he'd actually have to.
At this point, hoping that they would simply let him go was pretty much wishful thinking.
'This isn't a dream,' Tomas thought between labored pants, 'This is a nightmare!'