One Love, One Heart

Chapter 32: It's My Life

Ash walked over to Drew and began lifting him. He placed Drew's arm around his neck and held him by the waist. The trainer struggled to pull the boy as he dragged him from the grass. Drew had bruises and various cuts on him. His hair was a mess, and there was dry blood on the corner of his mouth. The coordinator needed to get to Ash's home quickly.

Ash held him while waiting for the others to get to his location. Suddenly, he felt Drew move. The rival weakly opened his eyes and took a small glimpse of the raven-haired teen. "Ash" was the only thing Drew could mutter in his condition. His eyes closed, and he hung his head as he became unconscious again.

"Come on, where are they?" Ash groaned as he got impatient. The longer they took, the less time they had to treat Drew.

"Ash!" Gary screamed. The male brunette came within sight as he ran to Ash.

"Gary, help me out, will ya?" the black-haired teen called out.

Gary looked at Drew with wonderment. "I'm guessing this is Drew?" Ash nodded. Then Gary added, "He doesn't look too well. We need to get him back to your house quickly."

"I know. Take Drew's other arm and wrap it around your neck so we can carry him," Ash ordered Gary. The young Oak immediately ran to Drew's other side to help drag him.

Drew got dragged by both boys as they stepped out of the wooded section of the route. Electivire followed behind them, using its electricity to lead the way. "Did you find him like this?" Gary questioned.

"Yeah, he was sleeping against a tree, but I don't know what could have happened," Ash explained.

"Let's find the girls and get out of here. Hopefully, they saw your signal and are on their way here," Gary hoped they wouldn't run into issues on their way out of the route.

A light became visible in the distance. Luckily, it was Arcanine with Misty and May. "There they are," Gary stated as the girls ran to them.

May and Misty gasped when they saw Drew hanging from Gary and Ash's necks. "Drew," May couldn't believe they had found their friend. She took a step closer to examine his face. She also noted that he was in rough shape.

"Is this how you found him?" Misty asked Gary about the emerald-haired coordinator.

"Ash found him. He said he was unconscious against a tree," Gary informed them about the boy.

Ash saw May lift Drew's hand to get a clear look at his face. Her eyes showed concern for the coordinator. "We need to get home fast."

"Right," May let go of Drew's face and nodded. She recognized that they weren't done with their task yet.

Just as they prepared to get going, Ash spotted a ray of light and saw two more closely behind it. "Wonder what that is?" Ash looked perplexed.

"Should we check it out?" Gary questioned his friends.

Misty replied, "We don't know what it is. It could be dangerous."

"The road to Pallet Town is that way, so I don't think there's any chance of avoiding it," Gary realized. He prepared himself for anything.

As they walked forward, they felt a gust pick up, and the shadow of something fiercely landed before them. The rays of light spotted by Ash got brighter as they closed the distance. Misty, May, and Ash froze while glaring at the unidentified shadow. Gary prepared to have Arcanine and Electivire attack with their illuminating techniques.

However, before the young Oak could do anything, a voice spoke. "Good job, Scyther," the person acknowledged, and the ray of lights behind it disappeared.