Pure of Heart [ON HOLD UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE]

Chapter 8: Into the Ruins

A scream escaped my lips, echoing around me in the chute. I felt someone bump against me as I slid down the narrow passage. Akemi screamed too, and I felt her hands grip my arm. I imagined her nails were what getting grabbed by a Scizor—Scyther's evolution first discovered in the Johto region—would feel like. Above our heads, I watched as the light was eclipsed by the trap door. Darkness clouded my vision before giving way to Mewtwo's purple luminescence. He must have jumped after us, immediately before the door closed.

My feet hit something solid, and my body tumbled to the ground with a thud. I felt banged up, but it didn't feel like anything was broken. I couldn't say the same for Akemi, as I heard her groan in pain in the darkness next to me. In the pale light, I could see her form crumpled in a heap on the ground, and I heard her say "Ow," repeatedly.

I felt around for my flashlight, but it was impossible to tell what was a rock and what belonged in my bag in the pitch black room.

"Mewtwo, I need light here," I said. His form descended over to me gracefully, like an angel from the heavens. A scientifically engineered, purple angel.

"Broken foot," he said before I had the chance to examine my friend. "It's not a horrible injury, but she will need assistance soon. Nothing pierced the skin, so it's likely a small fracture." He turned to speak to Akemi now. "Do not put any pressure on your foot."

"I feel like I'm gonna throw up," Akemi gasped. "Oh gosh, I'm going to hurl."

"That's what my mom told me it would feel like," I said. I was horrible at comforting people, but I had to at least try. I mustered together what medical knowledge my mom had shoved into my brain. It was all I really knew to do at the moment. "You probably won't actually hurl, but it's going to hurt like hell until we can get you medical attention."

Akemi repeated variations of "Alright," and "Okay," as I began to rustle through my bag for painkillers. The light that Mewtwo gave off was too low, so I released Charizard to help illuminate the area. I grabbed his tail and moved it to where it would be most beneficial to me. With the new light source, it was a piece of cake to find the bottle of medicine at the bottom of my bag. I noted the low supply and made a mental note to buy more once we got to town. Pokémon catching was painful work.

"Take these," I said. I opened Akemi's hand and placed the two tiny brown pills in her open palm. She forced them into her mouth, barely opening her gritted teeth to allow passage. I passed her water bottle to her too, and she sipped the liquid gently.

"Got any bright ideas on how to get us out of here?" I asked Mewtwo.

Etchings made themselves known as he waved his hand over the wall. The crevices appeared to be carved in the stone itself, not into a plate like they were in the room above.

Finally, he spoke. "It's in an ancient tongue, but I can hear the words in my mind. 'Our words shall remain here for the ages. Our clan engraved these words in this place.' I'm not sure what that means."

The building rumbled as another earthquake shook the ground. I shielded my head from falling debris. Akemi and Mewtwo did the same; one showed off his psychic power and created an umbrella over his head while the other shrieked and held her head in her hands. At the back of the room, torches sprung to life with orange fire, and a door opened under the carving Mewtwo had just read. Cool air rushed over me from the new opening, threatening to blow out the newly lit torches. Their ancient fire didn't waver for a second. I stood and walked over to the maw in the wall. I stared down the sloped path. A dank, wet smell rose from the new section of the ruins.

"Can you carry her with your powers?" I pointed at Akemi while talking to Mewtwo. In response, Akemi gently floated off the ground. A purple aura surrounded her body. "Perfect," I said.