Ember Chapter 1
#1 of Ember
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
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PART 1
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Mason wiped his sweat-laden brow with a bare arm, and sat down on a fallen tree to rest. Although the forest was dense, he could see the sun setting above him through the treetops. He stared with a dazed look off into the thick vegetation, absentmindedly picking out the small sticks and leaves which had tangled themselves into his short, ragged dark-brown hair.
He had been searching for three full days, and had nothing to show for it save the scratches and bruises he had acquired from hacking through the forest. He had come across some common bug-like creatures, but these were of little interest to him. Although he knew that this forest was home to much more diverse fauna; he was no longer so sure.
His supplies were dwindling, and he would have to return home soon, empty handed. Mason had caught a glimpse of a large clearing up ahead, and decided he would set up camp there and begin his trek back home in the morning.
His one-man tent and sleeping bag provided a decent barrier from the cold and the wind, but it left him nervous of attack. The tent was lightweight, with a camouflage design. It was tubular, as to accommodate the dimensions of a single person. He set it up at the very edge of the clearing, so it blended in with the vegetation. He cocooned himself inside both tent and bag; and sleep soon overcame his fatigued body.
***
Ember had been in a rather pleasant, deep state of sleep. However, her state changed to irate as she was woken abruptly by some loud commotion; no doubt caused by one or both of her sisters.
The three of them were orphans, wandering the forest in a desperate attempt at survival. Their mother had been kidnapped, taken as a slave. The three had watched in horror as their mother had been raped and beaten before she was captured. They had naturally developed a deep, seething hatred for all of humankind. Luckily, the forest was home to mostly harmless creatures, giving the three a fighting chance to survive on their own. However, the forest did have its share of more diverse fauna, which was quickly proven by the discovery of the true source of the commotion.
It was a blue-skinned creature, which wore a shell and stood on its hind legs to a height of three feet. Ember recognized the creature as a Wartortle, and froze in terror. Ember's sisters were running frantically towards her, as they dodged the creature's deadly blasts of high-density water. She realised that it was probably a good time to run; her flaming tail swept the ground as she turned and took off along with her sisters.
***
Mason jolted awake at the sound of something thrashing through the trees. He slowly opened his tent and surveyed the clearing anxiously.
A Charmander erupted from the foliage, leaving a trail of falling leaves. Mason's heart leapt; perhaps his journey would not be in vain. Before he was able to reach for his bi-coloured ball however, three more creatures burst from the trees. Mason now stood his ground; his Nidorino would be no match for the four. There were now three Charmanders; and the fourth creature, a Wartortle, seemed to be in pursuit of them.
The three lizards now ran abreast from each other. The Wartortle's swiftness defied its turtle-like appearance and it was quickly closing in. Ember strained her body to keep moving, but saw that they would inevitably be overtaken. She was suddenly caught off guard as one of her sisters body-checked her, causing her to fly sideways into the ground, landing face first. As the Wartortle neared, Ember realised that her sister had decided to sacrifice her.
Mason's anxiety turned to horror, as he watched the scene unfold. Two of the Charmanders had managed to escape by betraying the third. Mason had left the security of his tent, and was now moving towards the stray Charmander and its attacker.
The Wartortle leapt and tackled the lizard, brutally biting through the scales on its back. Mason was now tearing across the clearing, enraged at such brutality towards the helpless creature. The Charmander struggled, trying to escape the grasp of her assailant to no avail, while he bombarded her with a devastating torrent of water. Mason grasped for the red and white ball on his belt, and hurled it towards the attacker. A blinding flash of red light announced the arrival of his Nidorino.
"HORN DRILL!" Mason nearly screamed.
The purple, barbed creature complied, its powerful legs propelling itself head and horn first at the enemy. The horn punctured the exposed neck of the beast, spraying a copious amount of blood onto the grass. The Nidorino heaved its head and removed the horn, allowing the corpse to collapse into a crimson puddle.
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PART 2
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Mason had used the majority of his remaining medical supplies, but the Charmander was still in poor condition. If he had hesitated for a moment, she would have died.
The sun was low in the sky; it was already starting to get late. Mason's stomach grumbled and he realised that he had not eaten anything today, having been occupied with healing the lizard.
***
Ember opened her eyes weakly. A roll of soft material encapsulated her body, including her tail, whose flame was weak and would not burn through the material unless she willed it to do so.
She looked around and saw the human stoking a fire, the smell of roasting meat overwhelmed her. She had seen this boy save her, before she had blacked out from the pain; but she knew better then to be grateful. This boy's act was not selfless; once she was healed, the boy would capture her as a slave. He would likely continue his charade of concern and compassion to steal her trust, but Ember would not let herself be tricked into becoming a wilful slave.
***
Mason had captured the corpse of the Wartortle in one of the balls, a trick he had learnt from a survival book. It preserved the meat, so although half a day had passed, it was safe to eat. It had taken a lot of effort to prepare and cook; he had made a makeshift spit out of thick branches and rope. He looked down at the product of his labour with pride: roasted 'tortle. There was a good 25lbs of meat; so he re-preserved what he didn't need in the ball, although he knew it would only keep for a few days.
As he approached Ember with a plate of meat, she shot him a look of extreme loathing. He hesitated for a moment, before continuing slowly, his content appearance transforming to one of puzzlement and caution. He slowly lowered the plate beside her, before leaving to eat at a distance. Ember smiled, having taken away the boy's ease. The human now realised she had seen though his thinly veiled façade.
***
Mason sat next to the fire, eating his meal thoughtfully, the Nidorino devouring its own beside him. The look the lizard had given him kept running through his head. It had been one of hatred, disgust, and suspicion. After spending the entire day tending to the creature, and saving its life, he could not help but feel a bit choked.
"What do you make of it, Pierce?"
"Her," corrected the Nidorino, "What do I make of her, you mean."
Mason had not noted the gender of the creature, and was slightly taken aback.
"Wha..? Oh."
"She has a deep distrust for humans, that much is certain. It can only be expected from an untamed. I can see you're disappointed; you were hoping to find a friend here, but she assumes you want to trick and hurt her. I warned you it wouldn't be so easy."
Mason gazed at the Nidorino. He had been given it as a Nidoran on his tenth birthday, his "starter". He had been thrilled to obtain such a fascinating pet at the time, but he soon realised that Pierce did not deserve the title of "pet" any more then he did. Mason had taught Pierce how to speak English, something that had been extremely difficult, but It had been well worth the effort. Mason was now 18; the two had developed a strong bond, and they treated each other as equals.
Mason sighed. "Thanks for helping me save her though. You were probably trying to get some rest before I released you."
Pierce snorted. "I had half a mind to drill into your neck instead."
He kept a straight face for a few seconds before they both burst out laughing.
***
Ember was beginning to feel some of her strength coming back to her, but she could just barely move. She slowly sat upright and watched the boy and his slave talk. The sound of laughter struck a nerve. How could a slave be so delusional as to share a laugh with it's master? It sickened her. She realised that she would be better off dead, then as a slave.
She knew it was hard to keep an unruly slave prisoner though, even the mechanical balls humans used could be broken out of. However, she also knew it could be inevitable, like what had happened to her mother. As long as she was weak, and the ball powerful, there was little to be done. Perhaps, if she could regain her strength faster then the human anticipated, she would stand a change of escape.
Ember was startled at the sound of movement, and saw the boy's slave Nidorino walking towards her, no doubt to preach its master's lies, and try to convert her.
"How are you feeling?" he asked in tongue.
She offered no response.
"Is there anything we can do?" he pressed.
"...Leave." Her voice chilled the night air.
The Nidorino nodded. "I understand. You may sleep near the fire if you wish; it will keep you warm. We will leave here tomorrow as long as you are sure you are sufficiently recovered."
Ember wasn't able to hide the surprise on her face. But her expression quickly turned to suspicion. She watched the Nidorino leave. It was bluffing. It had to be... no doubt she would be captured in the morning.
Her strength did not allow her to escape however. The air was freezing, and was carried on a strong wind. The cocoon of material surrounding her was the only thing keeping her warm and conscious, but it was not enough now that the cold of night was upon her. She looked over to the fire, and debated with herself.
She saw the feral form of the boy inside his tent, close to the fire, attempting to keep warm without his sleeping bag. The Nidorino tenderly slept next to him, as they attempted to feed off each other's body heat. Still they quivered at the assailing cold. It was then Ember felt a small pang of uncertainty, and even guilt. She tried to convince herself that she was still being deceived.
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PART 3
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When Mason woke, he found that the Charmander had dragged the sleeping bag several feet so that it was closer to the fire. The small stockpile of wood he had left besides the fire was gone, the lizard obviously having tended to the fire during the night to keep it ablaze longer. It was now nothing but ash.
Mason woke up Pierce and got packing.
***
Ember woke up to the sound of the tent being dismantled. Her body was still sore, and the large bite on her back still gave her jolts of pain, but she was able to move with greater ease. The heat of the fire had instilled strength into her. She saw the boy and his Nidorino approach her. She became tense, and got out of the sleeping bag, readying to defend herself from capture.
"Look. I know you don't trust me, but I just want to help." Mason said nervously.
Ember just stared at him.
"I just... I just want to know if you're all right. Y-you... I.. can give you the few medical supplies that I have left and... you... can keep the sleeping bag."
Ember turned to the Nidorino and spoke in tongue.
"Just... leave me alone. Go. I don't need your hospitalities. Keep your... bag."
The Nidorino did not need to translate; Mason had gotten the gist of what she had said.
He nodded. "I understand." And with that, he packed up the bag and turned around.
Ember was confused. The boy... had obeyed? He had not even attempted to capture her.
She realised the boy's actions towards her could not have been completely selfish. Perhaps this human was one of the better ones, although, he did have a slave.
"Th... thank you." She stuttered, in plain English.
Mason nearly fell on his face. "You speak English?!" He asked bewildered, turning towards her.
Ember covered her mouth her horror, and realised she had made a terrible mistake. She now had pointed herself out as an extremely rare creature. This boy must be a collector, and now he wanted her. His talking Nidorino was just one part of his collection. She cursed at herself for being so careless.
Mason took the Charmander's silent horror as a cue to leave. Although his curiosity had gotten the better of him, he remembered that curiosity sometimes "killed the cat".
"You're welcome." He said with a smile, turning and walking away.
Ember was completely dumbfounded. For the first time in what seemed like forever, she felt... grateful. Nevertheless, she had other things to worry about now. She grimaced at the thought, but she would have to find her sisters. She had always been the runt of the three. Bullied and hated by the other two, always stuck doing the most work. However, she knew that without them, she would not be able to survive. They too would have trouble surviving without her doing so much of the work. 'And besides,' she thought, 'living with them is better then being a slave for a human... Even if that human was caring, honest, and selfle-' but she shook herself from this train of thought. Slaves were slaves.
***
Jenna and Suzie, her sisters, were tactful enough to fake happiness at her return. Jenna even pretended to feel regret at her decision to sacrifice her. Ember told them to relinquish their crocodile tears, telling them that she knew what they had done, but that they needed each other for survival, so it didn't matter. She began to explain what had happened. At the first mention of the human, Jenna interrupted.
"A human? Did you kill it sister? How else would you have managed to avoid capture?"
"No! I didn't kill him... I was... too weak and...and he... he saved my life."
Jenna and Suzie both burst out laughing.
Suzie recovered and looked at Ember. "Sister... you've always been a bit of a human sympathiser, but what happened to our mother should have been a lesson to you. That human's actions towards you were nothing but selfish."
"No! He-"
Jenna interrupted again. "Listen sister, we're glad you escaped. It doesn't matter the nature of this human. All that matters is that he is. Don't fret, sister, we will take care of him for you. You may help... if you wish."
Before Ember could protest, Jenna and Suzie ran off and began to follow the scent of the boy. Ember was panic-stricken; the boy stood little chance of survival... unless...
Ember realised that she now faced the most difficult decision in her life.