Pokémon: The Mysterious Region (book 1)

Chapter 8: The Lady in White

Stroke after stroke, I swam through the calm water, Bulbasaur on my back. I spat some water out of my mouth and continued onwards. I was halfway across the river when something wrapped itself around my ankle. It tugged and I tried to yank myself away. I looked at the jungle, the form of the woman gone now.

"No," I whispered. "Come back. Please."

Then I was pulled under.

...

I dragged myself back on the boat and glared at Ryan. "Why'd you throw me in!?"

He chuckled. "How else are you going to learn how to swim?"

"Maybe if you'd actually teach me," I snapped. "Instead of just tossing me in!"

He tussled my hair. "There's no better teacher than experience little bro."

...

I opened my eyes, the water around me still. I looked down, seeing a Huntail had wrapped its serpent-like body around my right leg. I kicked and thrashed, bubbles billowing upwards, but to no avail. I reached for my spear and pulled it out of my belt. I plunged the tip down and pierced the Pokemon. 

Blood floated from the wound and the Huntail uncurled from my body and went limp. Then, out of the darkness, more Huntails swam for me. My throat was burning from holding my breath for so long, I didn't know how much longer I could last.

Suddenly, leaves were zipping through the water, scattering the Water types. I looked up. Bulbasaur was clinging to my head, his eyes wide. I kicked upwards, bringing us to the surface.

I gasped and took in several gulps of air. After a few seconds, I reached up and touched the Grass type. "Thank you."

"Bulba."

Scattered around us, floating on the surface of the water were the arrows from my quiver. I stuck the spear into my belt and gathered six of the seven arrows I could find. Then I swam us to shore, Bulbasaur launching leaves into the water to keep the Huntails at bay.

I crawled onto shore and collapsed there, feeling the pain in my leg. I lifted the pant leg and saw two marks where the Huntail must've bit into me. Blood leaked out of the small holes and I had no idea if Huntails had venom. 

I ripped part of my pant leg and wrapped it tightly around the wound. Wincing in pain, I stood, almost buckling under the pain. I stared into the jungle, trying desperately to get a glimpse of the woman. 

I limped forwards. "C'mon Bulbasaur. Let's get going."

"Bulba?" The Grass type said, but I ignored him. We could find his mother later. And if we were lucky, we would find his mother along the way.

I half ran, half limped through the jungle. The moon shone down through the leaves, lighting the forest in an eerie glow. 

I could see her now. She was there. Just beyond those trees. 

I stumbled out of the jungle and into a clearing. Small, stone structures were placed haphazardly, and the whole area gave off chilling vibes.

"Hello," I called out weekly, my leg pulsing with pain. "Are you there?"

I walked among the stone huts, scattered pieces of wood and stone littering the ground. Then I reached the middle of the clearing. There she was. The lady in white. Her dress billowed slightly around her, her hair swirling along with it. Her smile, it was so beautiful.

"Liam," she said softly. "I've been waiting for you."

"Yes," I said, mesmerized. "I'm here."

She held out her arms wide to embrace me. Feeling very happy, I took a step forwards. 

CRUNCH

I looked down. My foot had punctured through a human rib cage. The shock of it snapped me back to my senses and I looked up, time seeming to have slowed.

The woman was no longer there. Instead it was a wispy figure with a misshapen purple face, its wispy body ending in a trail of black smoke. Its long blood stained claws were connected to its long arms, reaching out for me.

"You are mine!"

I stumbled backwards, tripping over the skeleton. I scrambled to my feet and ran. I zigzagged past the stone huts and slipped into one. I crouched in a corner, breathing heavily. A shadow flickered by the window and I held my breath. Then it stopped. Its form shifted and floated away. 

Silently, I crept to the window and peered through. It was gone. Then I heard a cry of pain and the sound of slashing. Then the noises stopped. Something rolled along the ground beneath the window. It was a bulb. The bulb found on the back of Bulbasaurs. And it was covered in blood.

I fell back in horror, clamping my hands on my mouth to keep myself from screaming. An unearthly scream sounded from outside somewhere and I shut my eyes, trying to block the noise. 

The scream died away, but I still kept my eyes shut. A chill passed through me and I felt a presence near me. I opened my eyes to see that thing above me, a warped grin on its face. I screamed and rolled to the side, avoiding its claws. 

I ran out of the stone house and tried to run into the jungle, but I couldn't reach it. I could see the trees, but for some reason they kept getting further away. I instead ran through the clearing, hearing the creature giving off bloodcurdling screams. 

I spared a glance behind me to see it closing in. Then I tripped and crashed onto the ground. My whole body felt weak and my leg worse of all. I pushed myself off the ground with my hands, seeing bones littering the ground all around me. I flipped onto my back and watched as the creature floated above me.

It cackled. "Come into me child. Fuel my spirit!"

I reached for the closest thing I had on me. I pulled out the knife and jabbed upwards just as the creature descended on me. The blade passed through the wispy figure and it began to cackle at my poor attempt. Then the knife glowed purple and began smoking. The creature howled in pain and withdrew from me, fleeing out of sight.

I looked at the knife in surprise and saw a symbol etched into the blade. A circle with a bloody eye in the middle. 

Shaking my head, I got to my feet and ran in the opposite direction that thing had. I burst back into the jungle, running for all I was worth. Then my vision began to go blurry. The pain in my leg had been reduced to a dull throbbing sensation. That couldn't be good. 

I collapsed to the ground, tumbling in the dirt. My hand hit a tree root and the knife went flying out of my hand. I tried to get up, but my body wouldn't let me. 

"No," I said faintly. "I... need... to... get... up..."

With my last ounce of strength, I pushed myself off the ground. Darkness flooded my vision and I collapsed on my stomach, the world fading away into nothingness.

Eight chapters in already! This is pretty amazing! Granted, they are all around 1000 words each so that might explain how quick this is going. Though hopefully starting next chapter they'll begin to get longer, which should take more time for them to be released, in theory. Who can say at this point. Well, that's it for this. Oh, and yeah, I did just kill off Bulbasaur. Deal with it. Toodles