Sand quickly changed over to grass and dirt as I pushed past the palm trees and away from the center and the unnatural light it provided. Were it not for the faint ethereal glow emanating from my otherworldly guide and the faint cries of my faithful quartermaster, I’d have probably run into three different palm trees and wound up on the opposite side of the island from my annoying mutt.
May’s mutt. May’s annoying mutt. Legends above I’m going through all this trouble to housebreak her and I don’t even get to keep her.
Meh. The mon was goth bait anyway. The whole aesthetic just screamed emo rock phase and I was so over that look.
I shivered in place before shoving past a large fern and wincing as my bare feet stepped over a few small rocks. “Ow, fuck me.”
Emilie shot me an unimpressed look. “Is there any particular reason you decided barefoot was acceptable hiking ware?”
Now on my ass and rubbing my sore foot, I bit back a curse word as I turned and glared at my starter. “I was on my bed and comfortable when I realized how late it was and didn’t think to throw them on when I came and got you, okay?”
Emilie shook her head and sighed.
I felt my left eye start to twitch. “Look, ordinarily, I’d be willing to play the game a bit before snapping, but it’s late, I haven’t eaten since this morning, I’m tired, and I just stepped on nature’s equivalent to Lego blocks. Either offer a solution to the current issue or cram it.”
Emilie leaned back as I finished my little blow up, only to lose her balance and tip back off my shoulder and slam, headfirst, into the ground. “Oww...”
I winced before looking down. “You alright?”
“Yeah, I'll live. I already miss the beach though. Sand is softer than dirt.” Emilie pulled herself up and rubbed the back of her head. “The perils of being the smartest person on the squad, I suppose. I’m a bit top heavy.”
“Uh-huh.” My tone dropped as I stared at her with listless eyes. “Right. You sure it's not just a giant cinder block up there?”
Emilie tilted her head. “Soooo, you don’t want some nice cushiony sand to walk on the rest of the way.”
“Yes please.” I grinned.
Emilie stared at me expectantly for a minute, before sighing and lifting up her hands. The faint blue glow from her eyes lit up the area before tendrils of sand rushed forward, guiding my eyes toward the phantom that was tapping his foot against the ground.
“Yeah, yeah. We’re coming, calm down.” I shoved myself up to my feet and stepped onto Emilie’s makeshift trail.
Emilie reappeared on my shoulder and focused on the area in front of us. “He’s back?”
“Still can’t see anything?” I asked.
She shook her head. “I can sense that we’re not alone, but... nothing.”
“Well, that’s better than before, at least.” I frowned before jogging forward. “We can worry about it later.”
The squawking was getting louder the deeper we went into the trees, until finally I could look up and see the faint outline of Apollo diving down to greet us, and a grumpy looking Sol lying on the ground.
‘I knew you were a bit thick, but I thought you were at least decent on picking up subtext.’ Sol glared at me before hopping to her feet. ‘Bad enough I had to deal with bird brain bugging me.’
Emilie bristled on my shoulder but held her tongue. I smiled down at her before turning to focus on Apollo as he landed in front of me.
‘Ahoy, Captain. Glad ye could join us.’ Apollo lifted his left wing in salute.
I grinned down at him. “Happy to be here.”
‘Why? Why are you happy to be here? It’s cold, dark, and filled with morons.’ Sol groaned as she got to her feet. ‘Arceus knows I’m not happy you’re here.’
I stared down to look at Apollo, who just grinned.
‘Meh, if the lass actually meant it, we’d be having Shadow Balls chucked at us left and right.’ Apollo chuckled.
Sol growled, and I lifted Apollo’s ball and returned him before he could provoke her further.
The dark type stopped growling and looked at me with a tilted head. ‘Rather brave of you to hang out with the big bad dark type with nothing but the gremlin.’
Emilie’s right eye started to twitch, and I could faintly hear the telltale sound of grinding teeth.
“Meh, Emilie’s strong and you’re not going to do anything bad.” I smiled at Sol.
Sol grinned, showing her canines. ‘You sure about that?’
“Yup,” I popped.
Emilie had both hands raised up as the word left my mouth, and sand started to float around me.
“Apollo trusts that you’re going to be chill, and I trust his judgment. He acts goofy, but he’s good at reading people.” I grinned before looking towards Sol’s dad. “His judgment isn’t the only one I have faith in, either.”
Sol snorted. ‘Right. You’re still trying to sell me this crock of Tauros shit.’
I opened my mouth, before closing it as the ghost slowly shook his head. I glanced back towards Sol and winced.
Her legs were shaking, and the angry glare she was sending my way was quickly being replaced with a frown and glossy eyes.
“Honestly, right now? I just wanted to thank you for helping Joern, even if you did it in the most asshole way possible.” I did my best to ignore the expression and smiled at her. Come on, just navigate the minefield. You’re good at this, you’ve done it before.
‘Feh, as if. Watching that moron flail his arm around like that was getting hard to watch. It was an affront to proper dark type masters, such as myself.’ Sol puffed up her chest, closed her eyes, and tilted her head up into the air.
The specter turned and gave his daughter a blank look, his mouth pulled down into a frown as he looked her up and down. “Sol.”
A chill ran up my spine as I heard him talk in the open for the first time, his voice echoing in the clearing in unnatural ways. Neither Emilie nor Sol reacted as I winced at the sound.
“Some master.” Damn it, Emilie. You were doing so good.
Sol just grinned. ‘This coming from the psychic type that passed out from firing a Psybeam.’
“It wasn’t just a Psybeam, and at least I can fire one off. Let’s see the master fire off a Night Slash. Surely that’s within her skillset.” Emilie leaned forward a bit at the taunt, her lips pulled up in a knowing smirk.
‘I don’t feel the need to show off like you do, little gremlin.’ The smirk never left her face. For a brief moment, an outline of a slightly larger Absol appeared over Sol, and I rubbed my eyes to dispel the illusion.
A pained look now coated the ghost's features, and I realized it wasn’t just me that saw the resemblance.
“Regardless.” I managed to get the word out before Emilie could poke the bear more. “Thank you. This is something he’s been struggling with, and you helped out quite a bit.” I thought back to how desperate Joern was to get at the water stone when I first got out of the hospital. “Probably with more than just the move.”
Sol pulled her nose back and looked away. ‘Ugh, gag. If I say you’re welcome, will you go away? This little anime friendship moment you’re trying to build here is making me nauseous.’
I tilted my head to the side. “You’ve spent most of your life in a cave. How do you know what anime is?”
Ghost dad let loose a whine and ducked his head down. If he had any blood in his body, I’m fairly confident he’d be blushing.
‘That’s none of your business.’ Sol’s cheeks were in fact bright red.
Things suddenly clicked in my head, and I started to giggle. “Awww, did your dad take you out on the town to people watch when he had visitation?”
Sol snarled. ‘Stay out of my head, Witch! I don’t know how you keep getting in but get out and stay out!’
“I’m not, I’m not, it’s just your reactions. For a dark type, you’re so easy to read. Don’t worry, though. Your secret’s safe with me.” I reached up and grabbed my smirking starter by the back of her neck and stared at her intently. “And her, if she knows what’s good for her.”
“I don’t, but I’m down to accept bribes.” Emilie’s grin never faltered.
I frowned at her. “With what, you can’t eat cookies for another five days.”
She reached up and patted my cheek. “You’ll think of something, I’m sure.”
Sol gave the both of us a disgusted look before plopping back down on the grass. ‘Whatever. You’ve thanked me, now go bug someone else and let me enjoy the night sky in peace.’
I sighed before nodding and gingerly putting Emilie back on my shoulder. “Fair enough. I’ll leave some food out for you for when you come back, alright?”
‘Don’t bother.’ She didn’t even bother lifting her head.
I turned and started walking back towards the center, before wincing as a low growling sound hit my ears. “I really hope Nurse Joy lets me at least use her kitchen. I know we probably missed dinner, and I’m starving.”
Emilie grabbed my shirt and started crawling down.
“Ack, Emilie, what the hell-”
“Shhhh, I want to make sure the ghost can properly hear this.” She leaned down and put her mouth right next to the poke balls on my belt. “Just so we’re clear. THAT is a tsundere. Got it? Now that we’ve gotten that straight, you can’t ever call me that cursed phrase again.”
I could feel the ball shake on my hip. It took a second, but once the words registered, I joined my ghost type in what I was sure was a very hearty laughing session.
----------------------------------------
I grinned as my starter nibbled on the proffered baked good. “So, what do you think.”
“Your cookies are way better, but... these are pretty good too. These are brownies, right?” Emilie asked.
“You’re out of your mind if you think cookies are better than chocolate brownies.” I frowned at the little gremlin as I made my way back to our room from the kitchen, a satisfied smile on my face with a plate of beef steak and potatoes in tow. Center food was good, but nothing beat homemade cooking.
Emilie lifted her head up from the treat and nodded. “These do taste good, they’re just not as sweet as I like. Those custom cookies you make me are perfection in cookie form.” She shrugged. “They hit different.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but snapped it shut as my... Wally’s phone pinged. I instantly stopped walking and reached into my pocket, careful not to spill Sol’s food.
“And... damn it, Eve. Why aren’t you May?” I pouted as I pulled up the messages.
Emilie leaned her head down so she could get a look at the phone. “What, I thought you were trying to talk to your sister.”
“I did, I just... worry.” I guess that word worked, right?
“Uh-huh.” Emilie wasn’t buying it, was she? “What did Eve have to say, anyway?”
“She said she was sorry she missed my call. Caroline needed to take some time off for a bit, and it left her shorthanded at the store.” I winced as I looked a bit deeper into the message. “She’s been pulling a few double shifts and solo shifts to keep up with the extra work, because she had to take her Pokémon with her too. That’s a yikes. She said she’d love to talk, but she’s too tired. I doubt I’d even get a text back if I replied with a good night.” I still took the time to do that before pocketing the phone.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
“Did it mention what Caroline needed the time off for?” Emilie asked.
“No, it didn’t.” I walked down the hallway towards our room, making it a point to not look at the freaky Tapu statues on either side of the kitchen door. “She was tired. She probably saw my text when she got home, typed a quick nothing reply, and crashed on the couch. Hell, she’s probably still in her uniform.” I groaned as a new thought popped into my head. “Which means she’s going to be sore tomorrow, and extra grumpy when I try to talk to her about it.”
Emilie didn’t instantly reply, and I glanced over to see her glowering towards the ground.
“Emilie?” I asked.
Emilie leaned back at the direct address. “Huh?”
“You alright? I kind of lost you for a minute.” I stopped in front of the door to our room as the question left my lips.
“Sorry, I was just thinking about some stuff.” She went quiet again, before turning and staring at me. “Are you okay?”
“Huh? I mean I’m a little worried about May and the others, but outside of that I’m feeling pretty good.” A grin pulled at my lips. “I don’t get jittery when you translate for the others anymore, everyone’s making progress with what they’re working on-”
Emilie twitched when I said that.
“Mostly, and Sol’s starting to open up. Honestly, things are kind of going well. Why wouldn’t I be fine?” I asked.
Emilie looked back towards the ground as her eyebrows pulled together. She kept tilting her head back and forth before finally turning and looking at me. “You said Sol reminded you of Eve back when you were younger.”
I froze. “Did I?”
I don’t remember saying that out loud. Maybe I did? That or Emilie picked up a surface thought. I thought the stupid-Stop. Stop freaking out, this is Emilie. There’s nothing to get worked up over, and I didn’t hear a word of what she just said, dammit all.
I lifted my hand up to stop whatever the hell she was saying before taking a deep breath and holding it for a second. I breathed out and gave her a shaky grin. “I, uh. Sorry. You might have to repeat that.”
Emilie leaned forward with wide eyes. “Are-”
“I’m fine.” The two words were spoken with finality as I stared intently at my starter.
“Right.” She looked away. “You muttered something about it while we were first talking at the training ground. Either that or you pushed that thought to me without meaning too. That can happen sometimes. They sound the same, so it’s hard to tell. Your mind’s still fine. I have no clue where your mind palace is.”
I winced. “I, that’s not-”
“It is why you freaked out. It’s okay. Baby steps.” She looked up and grinned at me. ‘To be completely honest, I never dreamed we’d be able to talk like this so quickly. We’ll get back to where we were in no time. But I don’t want to force you to adapt too fast. Last thing we want is a relapse.’
I opened my mouth, before closing it and grinning at Emilie. ‘I guess you’re right, though... if we’re talking baby steps, maybe I can try just being with you in my mindscape. Maybe try and get used to it.’
Emilie shook her head. “I think that’s a project for another night. You need to get back in the habit of regularly meditating first.” Her eyes narrowed in on me accusingly.
“I, uh. Oops?” I lamely shrugged my shoulders, slightly throwing off Emilie’s balance as she waved her arms in the air. “Sorry.”
“Good. Now then, my original question?” Emilie asked.
I opened my mouth before snapping it shut as one of my neighbors walked down the hall and shot me an odd look before walking into her room.
Why did she look familiar?
I hastily reached out and turned the knob before hurrying into my room, making it a point to place Sol’s meal down on the floor where she could get to it if she came back during the night. I met Emilie stare with my own before giggling and poking her on the forehead.
Emilie lifted her hands up and shoved my hand away. “Hey! I'm trying to have a serious conversation, stop being a weirdo and talk, damn it.”
“I know, and I appreciate it, but I’m good, really. You don’t have to worry about me.” I smiled as I walked over to my bed.
“Are you sure? Cause I’m going to be honest, those memoires kind of fucking sucked,” Emilie snarled.
“Emilie-”
“No, it’s my turn to talk. Every time that stupid dark type opens her mouth a new memory pops up, and I’m having a hard time reconciling that the hard-working, snarky, bakery owner that almost hugged her sister to death in the center in Rustboro and the bitter, annoying shrew are the same damn person.” Emilie took a deep breath before glaring at the ground.
I stared at my starter for what felt like an eternity, before sitting down on the messed up cotton sheets. “You wouldn’t recognize Sol for the Pokémon she used to be, either.”
I smiled bitterly as a few of my own memories played out. How Eve would tense and yell at me to pipe down whenever I brought up mom or dad. How she’d lock herself up in her room and cry only to come out smelling like something had died. “The first dream I got shown was of Sol when she was really young. Like, I’m talking your size, young. She treated her parents like superheroes, and I don’t know if the smile ever left her face when she gushed about how cool her mom was when they went hunting together.”
Emilie tilted her head. “I’m going to need you to send me a mental image of that for later use, okay? I’m going to need it if I’m going to survive being nice to the Tsundere.”
I giggled. “Yeah, that’s fair. I kind of wondered why that was the first dream I got shown, when the second one would’ve just done the trick. I think I get it now, though. He wanted to humanize his daughter.”
“Pokemanize,” Emilie corrected.
“Shut up, you knew what I meant.” I turned away from her and glared out into the night sky. “Grief fucks people up.”
“I know that,” Emilie said. “It’s still a big change, though.”
My lips pulled down. Honestly, I wasn’t sure she did get it.
“There’s a video that was taken a couple days before I was born; I think it’s one of the few things we have that has my mom’s voice.” I smiled at the memory. “Eve kept talking about all the stuff she wanted to teach me. How excited she was to meet her baby sister. She looked so happy in that.” I looked down towards the floor. “I don’t know that I’ve ever seen my sister happier than in that video. I think the closest I’ve seen is when she hugged me in the bakery after our fight.”
Emilie teleported down from my shoulder to sit next to me on the bed, her head resting on my leg. “I remember you finding that video. It was after the big fight, right?”
I swallowed before nodding. “Yeah. That.” I looked away. “I still stand by what I said. I deserved the slap. What I said was... horrible.” I pulled my knees up to my chest. “You do know that for every awful memory you mentioned, you had a half dozen more that were great. A lot of good times happened before that slap.”
“It’s just hard when the bad ones are so bad,” Emilie whispered. “I thought my relationship with mom was weird, you two take the cake.”
“I giggled. Yeah, well I would hope so, we make them often enough,” I said.
“You’ve been spending way too much time with Lucas, that was horrible.” A large grin spread across Emilie’s face.
“Yeah, well it did its job. I’m sorry you’re having to deal with my bad memories while we help Sol.” I smiled before letting my legs drop down and standing up. “Now quit it with the depressing talk. Just do what I do when I think of those times and imagine the rice flour incident.”
“What is- phhhht.” Emilie dissolved into a giggle fit. “How did you manage to make the entire bakery white.”
“I don’t know but it took forever to clean. Our battle made the mini flour fight we had in the center kitchen look tame.” I smiled at her. “You feeling better now?”
Emilie pointed at me accusingly. “I should be asking you that. Legends above, you’re weird. You complain about May all the time, but you’re an even bigger mother hen than she is.”
“Lies and slander, I-” Instantly stopped talking as Wally’s phone vibrated. The small speech bubble was at the front of the notifications, and a weight lifted from my shoulders as I realized it was from May.
“Sorry I’m late sending this, but it’s impossible to keep track of time down here. Day and night cycles don’t exist. Please don’t tell me you’re blazing a trail to come get me already. I’m too tired to yell at you,” I read off.
Emilie had her hand lifted up in the air, waving towards the phone as though that entire sequence proved her point.
“Yeah, well... shut up. Your face is ugly when you’re smug.” I ducked under the psychically thrown pillow before pulling out her ball. “Alright, missy. That’s a time out.”
She teleported out of the way of the red line and landed on top of my head, messing up my hair in the process. “My pouts are adorable, and I will hear no more of this slander, understood!”
I reached up to grab her, only for my hand to clasp at open air. “Damn it, Emilie. Quit screwing around.”
She reappeared in front of the bathroom door, her arms crossed as she tapped her foot. “Fine, ugh. I’m going to wash up a bit in the sink while you talk on the phone.”
I sighed once she disappeared again, before glancing back down at the phone.
“...You’re not, right?” May messaged.
I giggled, before pulling up my own keyboard. “Nah, I was just screwing around with Emilie. I’m in my bed at the center, don’t worry.”
“Good. I really don’t want to explain why a crazy girl with green hair is charging at the colony we’re hanging out with. They’re pretty chill, but not that chill,” May messaged.
I bit my lower lip. “Speaking of chill, how’s the weather down there?”
A bit of time passed as the ‘May is typing’ marker popped up. A block of text filled the screen a short bit later. “Mildly chilly, but we’ve got a cave friendly fire going on, courtesy of Samie and Suzy. We did learn that there’s a spot down here that’s always cold.”
My heart skipped a beat as I read that line, and I had to stop for a moment to calm down.
“We’re making it a point to steer as far away from it as possible. If Steven’s there, President Stone can send the letter down with a team of aces. I don’t care,” May messaged.
I let loose a breath I didn’t know I was holding. “Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks. I appreciate it.”
The only reply I got was of a cute, anime character that I didn’t recognize saluting me.
I grinned down at the phone. “Now then. You guys seen anything interesting down there besides Zubat, Geodude, Sandshrew and Makuhita?”
“Actually, yes. Jasmine met and befriended an Aron while we were exploring. She hasn’t actually caught the thing yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she asked before leaving the caves,” May messaged.
“Good. She needs something with some stopping power to put that Misdreavus in its place when it gets rowdy,” I messaged back, before thinking for a moment. “Now then, I know you’re tired, but before you go to bed, I wanted to get your opinions on a few things.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not too tired. I just don’t want to bug some of the Pokémon with Sergei’s light. What did you want to talk about?” she asked.
I grinned. “Well, I was wanting your opinion on the best revenge for the cruise. I was thinking of setting Wally up with a nice candle lit dinner at a fancy restaurant in Mauville, but I’m open to new ideas.”
The line went quiet for a minute before finally I got another prompt.
May preceded the message with a heart. “Don’t worry, I’m still here. Now then, you’re thinking too small. An occasion like this needs the perfect atmosphere, and I have just the thing...”
----------------------------------------
Black stone walls greeted my vision once more as we moved through the shaded halls. This was a dream. That fact did little to ease my rapidly beating heart, nor did it grant me any control over the body I was inhabiting. Heavy panting set the tone as we rushed further into place of my nightmares, and Sol made herself known to me as she outpaced me, taking the lead towards what I knew would be her worst memory.
‘Please don’t. I don’t need to see this,’ I mentally whispered.
‘You must.’ The words popped into my head from seemingly nowhere. ‘Time is limited.’
Before I could say anything further, both Sol and I froze. Ice filled my veins as I gazed forward, taking in the grisly sight in front of hell’s gate with wide, unflinching eyes.
Sol’s mom lay on the ground, completely still, her legs bent at awkward angles. The horn that normally stood tall and proud hung limply against her bloodied skull, and her chest looked shallow. Like her ribs had been caved in.
Above her stood a tall, menacing figure. Four white wings floated out from his shoulders as the creature stared down impassionately at his work, his face highlighted with a white turban adorned with a glowing, yellow jewel. Bloodied hands, fixed with golden bracelets marred by red stains, came together in front of him, not quite touching as he lifted his left leg in the air.
“Cham.” The word was spoken hollowly, and I leaned back in shock as I took in the listless eyes of this monster.
“What is this thing?” we asked.
“Medi.” The thing whipped its head around and focused intently on us, its eyes glowing red as it held our gaze.
This thing was a fucking Medicham? It sure as fuck didn’t look like the one I fought in my damn gym battle!
“MOM!” Before I could even process, Sol sprinted forward, a massive purple orb forming in front of her as she charged.
The world buzzed with sound, and the Medicham blurred, its body moving across the stone floor with such speed that I doubt I’d be able to keep up if I were looking at this with human eyes. The air pulsed as it slammed an open palm into Sol’s side before she could even turn her head.
She teleported into the wall so hard that her body indented into the stone, the entire cave shaking on impact. Medicham nodded before shifting its gaze over to us.
I gulped. Sol’s father held his ground, and the two locked eyes with one another. In an instant, the entire world blurred. An inky black aura filled my peripheral vision as the entire cave came to life in a cacophony of flesh slamming against flesh. The air cracked as the two met, our glowing black horn diverting a single open palm down into the ground.
The entire floor cracked under the power. We took advantage of the opening and swung our head up, our horn pulsing with an overwhelming amount of power as a cold, unrelenting fury gripped my heart.
The resulting dark blade cut the air in two before pushing through frozen form in front of us, cleaving the creature in half before pushing forward, carving a massive gash through the cave and knocking a few stalactites loose from their resting place into the ground.
The two halves of the monster slowly faded into a fine mist, and we jumped backwards as our attacker exploded out of the shattered ground, its body kicking up blackened shards of shrapnel as its fist met open air.
Three purple balls, twice the size of what Sol was charging earlier, were rapid-fired as we jumped backwards, and a grin pulled at our lips at the telltale grunt of pain that sounded through the clearing.
We weren’t done yet, though.
Medicham plowed forward, pushing through the purple whisps with gritted teeth as it shoved a glowing white fist forward, a manic grin adorning its features.
We disappeared into the void, a loud buzzing sound filling the air as we glided along the shadows and away from the angry Pokémon.
Medicham gave chase, its fists still glowing with unspent energy as it bounded forward, covering meters in a single stride as it gave pursuit.
We changed the direction we were moving on a dime, and slammed our head, horn first, into Medicham’s lithe body, sending the creature careening across the ground.
A loud snarl filled the air as we pushed forward. “You enter my territory. Intrude upon my terrain. Assault those closest to me!” We were screaming now as a black, radiant light exploded out from our horn. The launched blade was the width of the cave.
Medicham jumped forward, toward the assault, and brought up a single, glowing leg in challenge. The attacks slammed into each other, causing a ripple to push out through the cave. More stones fell from on high, and the shockwave threw both Medicham and us backwards. We rolled, slamming through three different sets of boulders before impacting the wall.
Our adversary skidded across the scarred cave, its left leg bloodied and mangled as a loud cry echoed off the walls. It collapsed to one knee the second it stopped skidding and fell forward, its hands falling in front of it to stop itself from hitting the ground as loud, raspy breathing filled the air.
We picked ourselves up from the wall before whimpering as we attempted to put pressure on our front right leg. Our gaze traced across the shattered pass towards Sol, and a haggard sigh left our lips. She had fallen from the wall at some point during the chaos, and we could faintly see her body move up and down in line with breathing.
Thank fuck.
“Medicham,” the creature growled as it steadied itself on its good leg, its eyes a reflection of our own as its face twisted into a sneer. It glanced around the clearing before hopping back towards a set of stalactites that had slammed themselves into the ground. It gripped the stone skewer with a single hand, before lifting it up into the air with minimal effort. It turned towards us and smirked, the action looking unnatural on this creature’s face.
We leaped forward, careful not to put weight on our bad leg as we rushed along the quickly widening cave system.
Medicham took the stone javelin in hand and held it over its head, before throwing it with enough force that the tip cracked the air as it traveled.
Our heart all but stopped beating as we saw where it was aimed.
We moved faster than we had ever moved in our lives, and shoved Sol’s still form with all our might, forcing the prone, unconscious body out of the way before freezing as the giant stone spear pierced our flesh, and pinned us to the ground.
Blood flowed freely from the wound as pain started to push through the shock, and a copper taste filled our mouth as the world slowly started to blur.
“DAD!”
That single, heart breaking word was the last thing I heard before the world went black, and I shot up from my bed in a cold sweat.