Lost in Reality [pokémon Ranger Fanfiction]

Chapter 8

"No!" Kate howled into the night. A cold sweat sent chills down her spine as her arms flailed to push her upright. Her throat burned as if she had been using flamethrower for hours. The red sleeping bag wrapped around her unzipped with the sudden movement.

Kate hastily looked around the small tent. Labored breaths struggled to get any air. The fabric home seemed to shrink in on her, pushing the ranger into a small ball. Her eyes raced over and over her fingers. Each crease in her palm. Dirt under her nails.

Arceus, it felt so real. It felt too real. She could still feel the throat at her fingertips, the air leaving under her crushing grip. Could she have--?

Whipping around to face the body beside her, Kate sunk down next to Keith. Her fingers traced over his Adam's apple and down his neck. She desperately hoped for a pulse. It was just a dream. It was just a dream. It was just a dream. It was just a dream.

But it was so real. What if she had strangled him in her sleep?

Keith grumbled. His chest puffing up with air as an amber eye cracked open, "Kate? Why are you feeling up my throat?" His voice was hoarse and cracking, but there. He was alive.

The cold desert night settled on Kate's shoulders as her eyes watered. "I thought you were dead," she broke.

Her husband was quick on the jump when he sat up. His arms wrapping around Kate's shoulders to keep her in his warm embrace, "It was just a dream, sweetie. I'm right here, alive and well." Keith unzipped his half of the sleeping bag. Gingerly, he snuggled her closer.

Kate was just positioned against his chest as they both laid down. The winds shuttered the tent flooded by shadows. Kate drifted slowly back into slumber as she snuggled closer to Keith.

When dawn broke on the horizon, the two were already on the move. Starly took sky patrol and Floatzel fronted lookout as they traveled. Kate often tugged at her old uniform. The red jacket just a little looser than she remembered. Her brown hair was pulled into a single ponytail bobbing behind her head as they marched forward.

The desert was barely awake as sand whipped against an old temple.

The ancient building entrance was a giant mouth. The rounded shape of a Hippowdon's skull. Thick tusks made of stone spewed up from the sand. As Kate turned her head to see higher, she winced at the sun's burning glare. The ranger pulls an arm to block the light away to meet the temple's ruby eyes glinting at her.

"I already feel exhausted looking at this," Kate muttered as Keith walked up beside her.

He smirked. Keith stretched out his arms in an air rearing to go, "Really? You're not excited for the quick-sand projectiles and spring leaves flying you across the room?"

Kate scoffed while pushing into the first room, "What about the tile room that moves you in all directions and you cross your fingers to find the right path? Man, that one made me sick to my stomach. I almost wondered if it was worth saving you."

"Hey!" Keith crowed, a smile sneaking further onto his face. His shoulders rolled back when he nudged Kate, "I would've been fine."

"Uh-huh," Kate muses as they make it further. As they entered the first room, the golden sandstone under her feet shifted. Sand crunched under each trudging step. Keith pats her on the shoulder with a small smile.

The shadowed room was suddenly trembling. Three Golems rolled out. Their bodies pieced together of rocks and pebbles. Their white fangs pearling bright as they hissed at the rangers.

Keith slid into capture position, his hand clapping onto his fine styler. He ejected his capture disk and was already circling two together, "Kate, grab the third!"