CHAPTER 44

Cecilia opened my tent two and a half hours later.

“Grace,” She whispered. “It’s your turn now.”

I yawned and stretched, barely keeping my eyes open. Togetic was still asleep, so I discreetly recalled her so she could keep sleeping in her Pokeball. I took a deep breath and shook my head wildly to wake myself up before making my way outside. It was actually staggering how dark Eterna forest was at night. The fire was extinguished, so I could barely see anything due to the thick tree cover blocking the moonlight. We had purchased flashlights, but we were too scared to use them at night, just in case the bright light attracted some wild Pokemon we couldn’t fight off if we kept it on too long. I felt at my hip and released Elekid.

“Hey, wanna spin your arms around for me for a sec?” I whispered. “Quietly, please.”

Elekid grumbled at my specification, but he obliged and spun his arms, creating a light source. I knew how dangerous it was, though, so I just used it to find Denzel, after which I ordered him to stop. He was standing against a tree with Eevee at his feet. The Pokemon was lying down, but I could tell he was focused by the way his ears were pointed, listening for any danger. My friend yawned as he saw me, causing me to do the same.

“Damn you and your yawns,” I said quietly. “How’d you sleep?”

“I couldn’t even fall asleep. Too nervous. I just laid down in my sleeping tent and looked at the ceiling for almost three hours.”

“You can sleep in my tent if you want,” I said. “Togetic can—”

Eevee stood up, and our heads whirled to our left. I couldn’t recognize which Pokemon cry that was, and neither could Denzel, so we just stayed perfectly still and silent, hoping it would pass without noticing our camp. Even at night, Pokemon were still active. The forest never slept, and we’d be foolish to let our guard down. Luckily for us, it passed, and nothing happened.

I finally took a breath I didn’t know I had been holding. “This place is hell,” I groaned.

“Tell me about it. That Pinsir was something else, and that Anders guy didn’t even tell us that much about them. I just hope we don’t get lost or stuck. The longer we stay here, the bigger chance there is of something going wrong.”

I hoped to Arceus he hadn’t just jinxed us.

The next two hours and a half went by agonizingly slowly, and we had to be constantly on edge. I never thought about how exhausting that was, and combined with the fact that I was already dead tired, I fell asleep immediately after getting back in my tent. Denzel joined me this time after waking up Justin and Pauline, and Togetic helped him relax and fall asleep. When I woke up again, it was morning. Cecilia had a really good internal clock and woke up at five-thirty on the dot every morning, so she was in charge of waking up everybody. Thank Arceus for her.

Nothing bad had happened at night. Apparently, Gothita and Growlithe had chased off a group of Caterpie looking to scavenge anything they could find in our camp, but they weren’t that threatening. We all ate breakfast in relative silence, cleared our camp, and continued on our way. We were still walking north, waiting a few days before starting to turn east. We followed the same formation as before, hoping for the best. Pauline was sticking to Emilia more and more since she was the girl’s biggest support. There was a bit of animosity toward her from Louis for having caused the Pinsir to find us yesterday, but Pauline shut down every complaint immediately.

Three hours later, we all paused as Growlithe let out a low growl. My heartbeat quickened as I looked down at Elekid, who stared up at me and nodded. We heard a small rustle beyond some bushes to our right. We were all in position. What horror would reveal itself this time? I wiped my hands against my pants and waited with bated breath—

A small, brown furry Pokemon slowly limped through the bushes. Its ears were rolled up, and one of them had a large gash that was bleeding massively. it was completely covered in spores.

“Neary…”

The Buneary collapsed as it reached us. After being taken out of his stupor, Denzel grabbed a Pokeball and approached—

“Wait!” Justin yelled, blocking him. “Growlithe still smells a threat.”

We froze, as scuttling could slowly be heard in the distance, slowly getting louder, and louder. Suddenly, at least ten Paras burst through the vegetation and started attacking us.

Yes, us. And more were coming.

“Try not to breathe!” I yelled, before the last shred of order evaporated from the group, and the formation fell apart.

Emilia yelled and fell backward as a Paras jumped onto her leg and bit down hard. Beldum tried to wedge it off using Confusion, but the thing was completely latched on, and it began releasing spores. Cecilia ordered Deino to take care of anything that got close to him, and the dragon started roaring out Dragon Breaths, taking out each Paras in one hit, but they just kept coming. Elekid started by Thundershocking the ones he could aim at without hurting anyone else that was in the way, but soon, they were getting closer, and he switched to Thunder Punching. Seeing the writing on the wall, I swore and grabbed my axe.

“Use your axes as weapons!” I screamed.

I swatted a Paras away from me. Their shells were hard and probably too hard to break, but they were extremely protective of the parasite on their backs, so one hit to one of the two mushrooms hard enough, and they’d run. Denzel cut the Paras’ mushroom on Emilia’s leg, wounding the bug enough for it to let go, and Beldum threw him against a tree. Gothita was busy keeping every Paras off of Pauline, who was fighting to protect Emilia and Cecilia and covered in green blood. and Eevee was cracking their shells with Double Kicks, making them more vulnerable. Louis was crouched and trembling against a tree, and his Prinplup was using Ice Beam over and over again, freezing the Paras into submission.

I felt something crawl on my back, and I screeched.

“Grace!” Denzel yelled out.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Elekid panicked as I desperately tried to get the bug off my back. He was too short to Thunder Punch Paras, and he couldn’t use Thundershock without hurting me. It bit into my back, and I collapsed, writhing in agony. Elekid Punched the bug twice, and Eevee rushed to my side, ramming into it, but it was ultimately Denzel who sliced one of the bug type’s parasites, causing it to scuttle off as it screeched.

“I— I can’t move,” I told Denzel amidst the chaos. A Dragon Breath flew above us, hitting a Paras that was about to attack us mid-air.

“I’ll protect you,” He said. “Eevee, keep them off of me! You guys need to release everything you’ve got!” He yelled, before grabbing Budew’s Pokeball. I looked into his eyes, and he seemingly understood me. “I need all the firepower I’ve got.”

The group listened, and a flurry of red lit up and dark forest. Budew looked around confusedly before Denzel brought her up to speed.

“I’m sorry, I need you just this once, Budew. You need to keep the Paras off of us. Use Absorb, Bullet Seed, anything.”

Budew stared at him for a few seconds before nodding and, started glowing and growing slightly in size before attacking the nearest Paras with Bullet Seed.

“My Pokeballs,” I grunted. “Use my team.”

Denzel kicked one of the Paras into Gible’s huge Dragon Rage.

“Alright, but I’ll stay here with them and you, alright?”

I offered a weak nod, and he released Frillish and Togetic, who kept battering our enemies with Water Pulse and Fairy Wind. Eventually, after five minutes of fighting off the horde, they were either dead, too injured to fight, or had escaped. I grunted in pain as I pushed myself against a tree. Despite having been bit once on my upper back, my entire back was hurting. Emilia couldn’t walk without someone supporting her. Cecilia’s right arm had been severely injured and bit multiple times by the same Paras, although she looked like she’d be able to keep going. Pauline, Denzel, and Louis were unscathed physically, but one of them hadn’t even helped.

One of them hadn’t even pulled out a weapon to fight and had instead hidden like a coward.

“What the hell is wrong with you!” Denzel screamed, pushing Louis against a tree. His Pokemon didn’t even defend him. Gible was just eating a Paras, while Prinplup was just looking around awkwardly.

“Keep your hands off me!” Louis said, trying to push my friend away. Even though Denzel was two years younger, he was still a big guy, and the situation devolved into a fight, which Justin stopped.

Denzel wiped his bloody nose. “You’re a fucking wimp,” He spat. “You could have gotten someone killed. Even Emilia fought! But you? You fucking hid.”

“Don’t you speak to me that way—”

“Shut the fuck up and listen for once in your Arceus damned life!” He interrupted. “Being scared is fine. We’re all fucking scared! But as it stands, you’re dead weight.”

“Please,” Louis scoffed, looking around to his friend for support. His face turned ugly when he realized none was coming. “Cece?” He tried.

The girl turned away and walked up to me before crouching and assessing the damage on my back.

“Pauline—”

“I’m busy, Louis,” The girl said, tending to Emilia’s wounded leg.

“Justin?”

The boy shook his head. “Not now, Louis.”

Louis collapsed with his back against the tree and buried his face in his knees, not saying anything else.

“The bite is right next to your spine, but it looks like it’s only surface damage,” Cecilia told me. I breathed a sigh of relief. “It tore off a pretty big chunk of flesh, though.”

“Damn it,” I said.

I winced as I felt a wet towel touch the wound. Cecilia warned me before pouring alcohol to disinfect it. I thrashed around and swore after just a few drops, but I had to endure it.

“What about spores?” Justin asked. “Anyone feeling weak, stiff, or tired?”

“I think we’re all okay. Paras’ spores aren’t as potent as Parasect’s, so as long as we didn’t breathe in too much, we should be fine,” Pauline stated, applying a few potions to Charmeleon and Gothita.

“Let someone know if that starts to change,” Cecilia told us as she wrapped a bandage around my back. I froze as her soft hands wrapped under my clothing. In any other circumstances, I would have been ecstatic. “There you go, Grace. Can you walk?”

“I think so, yeah. I was probably just in shock before,” I said.

I got up and steadied myself against the tree trunk before taking a tentative step. I was thankfully fine if I ignored the searing pain in my back, although running would probably be out of the picture because the simple motion of my arms would transfer to my back and make the pain way worse. I stared at Emilia, who was sobbing silently as Pauline wrapped her own bandage around her leg.

“Should we stay here for a few hours? I don’t think Emilia can walk,” I asked.

Pauline looked at me, and for the first time, I saw no animosity. Just gratefulness.

“I think that would be wise,” She said. “Emi needs a break.”

“I’ll keep watch,” Denzel said. He thanked Budew before recalling her. “I need to do something first.”

He slowly approached Buneary, who squirmed on the ground. It was terrified of him, but he just crouched and started applying potions on the area where it was wounded.

“Can one of you guys give me an Antidote?” He asked. Justin handed him the yellow bottle, and he applied the concoction on the Buneary’s skin. The liquid would be absorbed and cure it of its poisoning. “I’ll take care of you, alright?” He said softly before carrying it in his arms “This is Eevee,” Denzel continued, pointing at his friend. “I won’t make the same mistake twice. I’ll nurse you back to health, and if you want to join me by the end, I’ll take you in.”

The normal type nodded weakly. He carried it a few dozen feet away and started to watch for any danger.

We slowly started setting up camp again in the same way as yesterday. We were all alternating our team members to let them rest after that tough battle. Instructor Anders had warned that Paras usually traveled in packs, but I wasn’t expecting a horde. Luckily they hadn’t been led by a Parasect, or we probably would have run away and gotten lost, or… died. It was only the second day, and Eterna forest was already taking its toll on us. Paras usually didn’t attack humans unless they were desperate for food or commanded by a Parasect, and that group had been way too big. First the Pinsir, now this? Anders had said trainers going through the forest were unlikely to meet the bigger threats that he had shown us, so it looked like we were extremely unlucky. I hoped I would be able to withstand what was to come, but even more than that, I hoped that no one would just completely break down.

Beforehand, I would have said Emilia was the most likely candidate. The girl was wrapped around a blanket in between Justin and Pauline, who, even though appeared a little shaken, looked to be doing alright. Denzel was the one I was putting all my trust in. I knew in my heart that he wouldn’t give up if I was still here. Cecilia seemed to be the most mentally strong of us all. With a bandage wrapped around her wounded arm, she was working hard to keep all of us positive, talking about anything that came to mind, or about what we’d do when we got out.

Louis, though? The man hadn’t talked since the Paras attack, and while he was sulking in a corner, his fiance was taking charge and keeping the group together. Right now, what I feared the most was still the wild Pokemon lurking around every corner. Most were weak enough for Deino to beat in one hit, but the sheer amount of attacks were going to take a toll on us. And that toll was causing the tension to rise, slowly but surely.

I could tell something was brewing.