Pokémon: The Mysterious Region (book 1)

Chapter 18: Javic and His Final Descent

I dreamt of vines. Bursting from the forest floor, wrapping their thick tendrils around me, squeezing the life out of me. I could feel them breaking my windpipe and I opened my mouth in a silent scream.

I saw Eric and his Shiftry standing close by, smirks on both of their faces. I saw Sceptile up in a tree, appearing to enjoy my suffering as the jungle claimed me. I saw Cera and Ven, two people I had considered friends, before they had stabbed me in the back. I saw Ryan, his body, laying limp on the ground. The ground burst open and he fell into a bottomless pit.

The vines squeezed harder and the edges of my vision began to darken. I was angry, but I mostly felt sorrow, an emptiness that carved deep into my heart. I had lost my brother, I was betrayed, and now I was going to die. I looked up at the canopy, the sunlight streaming through. Suddenly, I felt at peace. Everything that had happened since I arrived here on this island, this Mysterious Region, was absolutely terrible, but I was glad for one thing.

I smiled and darkness overwhelmed me. I was glad I would die here, on this island, a place I never wanted to leave from.

...

I jolted upright, breathing hard. I felt my chest, then my face. I was sweating like crazy, but that could be part of the humidity. I clutched my shirt and gave a sigh of relief. What was I thinking. Thank the heavens I was alive and breathing.

I felt something hit my head and roll onto my lap. I looked to see Xera glaring at me, sitting on a stump. "Eat."

I looked at the spiky green fruit and hesitantly picked it up. 

"It's fine," Xera said, rolling her eyes. "It's just food."

I bit into it and was surprised by the sweet flavor. The spikes were also not very spiky at all and tasted wonderful.

"Thanks," I said after the first bite, then proceeded to demolish the fruit. Once done, I wiped my mouth and got a better look at our surroundings. We were in a small clearing lined with trees with a couple stumps. While Xera sat on one, Luna leaned against another, picking at the grass. Grovyle, Dewpider, Yanmega, and Nidoqueen were nowhere to be seen.

"I thought you would be gone with your tribe," I said to Luna, coming to sit a couple feet from her. My memory was slightly fuzzy, but I was pretty sure her tribe, the Moonlit Tribe, had retreated.

Luna gave a short laugh. "I was with them, then gave them the slip."

She looked at me. "I need you, so I came back. A lot of good that did me."

"Gee," I said. "Thanks. It almost sounded like you care about me."

"And what am I," Xera said from ten feet away on her stump. "Ursaring dung?"

Luna didn't even bother to look back at her. "I didn't come here to rescue you. I came for him and him alone."

"She stays," I said and Luna shrugged.

"She's gonna have to," Luna said, mercilessly ripping at the grass and I was sure I heard a Pokemon hiss in fury from somewhere in the trees. "At this point we have no choice."

I looked at Xera, then her wounded arm. "How is it?"

Xera glanced at her arm, then shrugged. "I've had worse."

"She got it tended to while you were out," Luna said, ripping out more grass, and now I was sure I heard a Pokemon hiss now. "She'll live."

"What is that?" I asked, scanning the trees. 

"Sceptile," Xera responded. "He's the one guarding us. Just him, but that's enough. One wrong move such as trying to escape and he has permission to kill us."