Tyler's Search: Sara - Part 4

    Sara slowly came back to consciousness. That was something of a surprise in itself. Too weak to move, the Leafeon lay with her eyes closed, taking stock of what she could. She had been poisoned. Maybe more than once. Memories were slow to come. Where… am I now? Sara took a slow breath, and as she did so she slid across the ground. Something had her hind leg and was dragging her somewhere. Trying to focus through the haze, she turned her attention to that leg. It felt like a pair of jaws were clamped around it, but Sara felt no pain, no teeth. Whatever was pulling her, it was being gentle.

    Warmth spread across her body, and then sunlight unexpectedly flared through her closed eyelids. Sara flinched a little in surprise, barely moving in her weakened state. At about the same time, the jaws opened and her leg dropped to the ground. Sara just lay there. Sunlight… sunlight was good. Slowly, Sara spread her leaves, turning her ears and tail to catch the light. Even that small effort tired her again. As minutes went by, her strength started to return, and she opened her eyes. The sunlight was the first thing she saw, and it took a little longer for her eyes to adjust. It came from a square – a hole, in a wall. The wall looked like the surface she lay on, hard, flat, and colorless. Glancing down, she caught sight of Luke’s familiar face, watching her anxiously. As she realized what that meant, emotion overwhelmed her, and she closed her eyes again.

    It must have been her mate who had dragged her into the sunlight. Sara wasn’t sure how she felt about that. On one hand, she was glad to have him here. On the other, that meant he must have been caught, like she undoubtedly had. If he was here, though, she must not be in a ball. Sara didn’t think more than one Pokémon fit inside, although she wasn’t certain. Still – Luke was here. A nose came down, pushing softly into her, and Sara leaned into the comforting touch. She was glad, she decided. Sara hadn’t expected to ever see her mate again.

    “Are you all right?” Luke whispered in her ear. “I’ve been so worried about you.”

    Sara nodded as well as she could. “It still hurts… but I think… I’m getting better now.” Her mind was clearing now as the sunlight continued to lend her strength, but Sara could still feel poison weakening her. It’s time to do something about that. Sara lay back, focusing her energy. She drew more sunlight into her body, holding it and concentrating it instead of just letting it flow. Once she had enough, Sara let it all go in a single burst. Her skin glowed briefly as a flash of heat warmed her all over. It hurt her a bit, but it also burned the rest of the poison out of her veins. Sara took a deep breath, exhaling in a sigh. “That’s better,” she said quietly.

    “Was that…” Luke left the sentence unfinished, and she nodded.

    “The poison is gone now. As long as I’m in the sun, I should be able to get up again in a while.” Sara looked her mate in the eyes. “Thank you for taking care of me.”

    Luke looked back at her. “Of course.” He looked surprised that she would even mention it. That was one of the things Sara loved about him. Now that she’d reassured him that she would be all right, he changed topics. “What about our children? Did they…” Again, he didn’t finish. Sara understood.

    “They took Kara,” she recalled. A sob rose in her throat at the memory, but she swallowed it back down and pressed on. “Carson went after her – he said it’s something you would do.” Luke bowed his head at this. Sara knew her son had been right. “Tyler, Skylar and Sasha were all with me until more Catchers found us. I saw all three of them run into the forest again before they got me.” Sara sighed. “I hope they’re all right.”

    Luke pressed his nose into her fur again, but didn’t say anything. He knew as well as she did that there was no way to answer that question. Sara breathed in his comforting scent, looking her mate over as she did so for the first time since she’d regained consciousness. He was battered and bruised all over, with numerous cuts evident on his flank. Her eyes widened in surprise. “Are you all right?” she asked him.

    This drew a tired laugh from the Flareon. “I’ll live. I told you I’d stop them from following you.” There was pride in his voice, but then he shook his head. “I guess it wasn’t enough, though.”

    “Three of our children got away into the forest,” Sara reminded him. Remembering her last thought before unconsciousness claimed her, she added, “It was all worth it for that.”

    Luke nodded, then turned away, suppressing a sniff. Sara thought she knew what was going on. Her mate always had to show a strong face to the world, and her heart went out to him right then. After a moment of watching him, Sara looked around, inspecting her surroundings. The walls and floor were hard and gray. There was a hole placed high up, and one wall had openings in it she could see through. They wouldn’t let anything out, though; the holes were barely wide enough to admit a paw. The whole place was clearly Catcher-made. Through the openings, Sara could see more of the same; hard floors and walls with strange lights at intervals that didn’t look like sun. The space she was in was much larger than their den, and Sara could see they weren’t alone; there were other forest Pokémon in the cell with them, most huddled against the walls. With a tinge of sadness, Sara recognized some of their neighbors from the forest. She and Luke were the only ones in the center, probably because he’d pulled her into the sun.

    Outside their cell, Sara could see others a short distance away. There were Pokémon inside those ones too, though Sara couldn’t make out any details. She stretched out with her other senses, searching for plant life. She could feel some, out through the hole where the sun was coming in, but it was distant. There was no hint of nature inside this sterile Catcher’s den. It was at that moment that the reality of the situation hit her. She was trapped inside this… place. Probably forever. Maybe there was some way out, but Sara didn’t think so. Pokémon taken by Catchers never came back.

    What would they do with her? With Luke? With Kara? The Catchers Sara had seen before seemed to bring Pokémon with them wherever they went, but these Catchers seemed different. Instead of being kept in balls, Sara and the other Pokémon they’d taken had simply been taken from the forest and deposited in this lifeless den. The Catchers must have some reason for it, but Sara didn’t know what it was.

    By this time, Luke had recovered. “Have you seen Kara or any of the others?” Sara asked, hoping that she could at least see her daughter. Luke shook his head.

    “I haven’t. Maybe she is here; I haven’t looked much – you were the first one I found.” He glanced around at the cells. “I don’t see any young Pokémon here, though.”

    He was right. Their own cell was occupied by Pidgeotto, Furret, Raticate, an Azumarill, and several other species, but there weren’t any young. I hope Kara is somewhere close. Somewhere I can see her. And the others… I just hope they got away.

    After nearly an hour, Sara was finally feeling more like herself again. She’d moved twice to keep herself in the sunlight; Luke had helped her the first time, but she was able to manage on her own the second. Finally, Sara climbed to her paws, slowly stretching her legs while Luke anxiously hovered over her like a mother Pidgey. She was still weak, but well enough to walk now.

    Now that she could, Sara moved to lay her head on Luke’s shoulder, and he returned the gesture. Though she hadn’t wanted him to be caught, Sara was glad she wasn’t alone here. I don’t know if I could make it if I lost everyone. Emotions warred inside her, sorrow for herself, Luke, and Kara, happiness that he was with her, mingled anxiety and hope for her other children, the ones who had still been free when she’d seen them.

    “Sara,” Luke breathed in her ear before pulling away, “what do we do now?”

    That was a question she was still wondering about. Sara didn’t think they’d be able to leave, so the only ones they could do anything for were the other residents of their cell. I don’t know anything about this place, Sara realized, and that gave her somewhere to start. “I want to see what’s out there first,” she decided. She went to the wall with the openings in it and looked out, straining to see all she could. Now that she was closer, Sara could make out more of the Pokémon in the other cells. There was a large variety of species there, though, as Luke had noted, all of them seemed to be mature as well. Many of them weren’t from anywhere in the forest; these Catchers must be bringing Pokémon from all around. Why was still the question. Though Sara couldn’t see any young Pokémon, she still had to know, so she took a breath and called out. “Kara! Are you here?”

    Her shout echoed uselessly through the den. No response came back, and she sighed, laying her ears back in disappointment. A few moments later, though, a measured tromp became audible. The rhythm was wrong for anything with four legs; it had to be a Catcher coming.

    Confirming her fears, the Catcher came into view shortly after. Sara backed off from the opening, and Luke came to stand protectively beside her. She would have tried to hide, but there was nowhere in this cell. She still felt painfully exposed, with all of the other Pokémon crowded against the walls while she and her mate stood near the middle. The Catcher looked different than the ones who’d attacked… that morning? The day before? Sara realized she had no idea how long she’d been unconscious.

    The Catcher didn’t look like the ones who had passed through their forest on previous occasions, either. All of them had usually come in some kind of color, dark or bright, with arms and legs clearly evident. This Catcher was in something white that rippled around his body, concealing most of his form. There was something flat in one hand, and something small and pointed in the other. His gaze swept over the Pokémon huddled in the cell, then came to rest on Sara. Even as she drew back, Luke, still bruised and battered, stepped in front of her, growling, “Don’t touch her.”

    The Catcher’s eyes narrowed, and he looked Luke over for a long moment before muttering something and turning away, his tromping footsteps echoing long after he’d passed from view. Now that the immediate threat was gone, Luke relaxed and turned back. “We’ll have to be careful. Catchers have come by a few times. They haven’t done anything yet, but that can’t last forever – they didn’t bring us here for no reason.”

    Sara nodded, then voiced one of the questions that had occurred to her. “How long was I unconscious?”

    “Over a day. I was so worried about you…” Luke sighed. “But I’m glad you’re all right.”

    “Is there anything to eat? Or drink?” she asked.

    “Over here,” a powerful-looking Pidgeot broke in. Sara turned to the speaker, who was near the corner. Beside him, there was a large metal basin. When Sara approached, she saw it was full of water. “This seems to stay filled,” the Pidgeot explained. “We don’t have to worry about running out of water.”

    Sara nodded. “What about food?”

    The Pidgeot motioned with a wing, indicating the ceiling. “A few times a day, part of the ceiling opens, and they drop some kind of food in. It’s not very good, but…” he shrugged his wings. “It’ll keep you alive.”

    “Thank you,” Sara said. “What’s your name?”

    “I’m Harold,” the Pidgeot responded. “My mate got away, but a couple of Crobat managed to surround me. What about you?”

    “My name is Sara,” she told him. “And this is my mate Luke. The Catchers attacked our family in the clearing.”

    “Your family?”

    “We have five children. Three got away, I hope. I don’t know what happened to any of them.” Sara gritted her teeth against tears. “Excuse me,” she added, more sharply than she’d intended. She stepped forward and lapped at the water in the basin, trying to bring her emotions back under control. She was glad the basin in the corner hid her face. Sara couldn’t just rely on Luke to take care of everything anymore – she would have to start being strong, too. In here, they were all at the mercy of the Catchers.

    The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Catchers never came into their cell, and though they occasionally passed by, they seemed to pay little attention to the trapped Pokémon unless they did something to attract it. As the sun set outside, the hole in the ceiling opened as Harold had said, and a stream of brown pellets fell through, bouncing across the floor. Sara sniffed one experimentally, then bit into it. It was hard, dry, and not very tasty, but, as the Pidgeot had said, it was food, and so she crunched them down until her hunger was sated.

    After that, Sara picked her way around their cell, intent on meeting the rest of the Pokémon with them. As she had noted before, they were all forest Pokémon from their area, and she found that she knew several by name. Maybe it should have been comforting, but all she could feel was sadness that they had ended up here. That any of them had.

    When night fell, things got dimmer, but darkness never truly fell inside. The corridor outside still had some light in it from some unseen source. Luke curled himself around her protectively; around them, those Pokémon who had been fortunate – or unfortunate – enough to end up here with their mates were doing the same. They were all crowded around the walls, away from the entrance and the vulnerability of the open floor. Between the unfamiliar surroundings, the unnatural brightness, and her own anxiety, Sara only slept fitfully.

    Morning was indicated by a gradual brightening from outside. As usual, Luke woke before she did; he was staring off into space when she opened her eyes. Sensing she was awake, the Flareon turned to her. “I’ve been thinking,” he murmured. “They must have put us in here through that thing.” He indicated the grated entrance. “If they want to get us out, it’ll have to be the same way. That could be our chance. Not just for us, but all of the Pokémon here. I know the Catchers have Pokémon, but there are a lot of us – they couldn’t stop us all.” They caught us all, Sara thought in a moment of pessimism. She didn’t say anything, though, merely nodding with her head leaned into his mane. It probably was their best chance.

    More pellets of food came rattling in. While they all ate, Luke moved around the cell, circulating his plan. Sara knew that some would be too afraid, enough would have the strength and determination to follow through with her mate. Sara would be there too. They didn’t bring us here just to leave us. They have to come sometime.

    As Luke had predicted, the white-covered Catcher returned a little later. His eyes swept the cell until the fell on the Flareon. There was a minute shifting among the Pokémon as they all tensed to act, and then the Catcher pulled a ball out of his coat. A ripple of confusion spread through the cell – what was he doing? – and then he pointed it into the cell. In a flash of energy, Luke vanished inside. Sara’s heart stopped. No, no, no! Shock rooted her to the spot, and all she could do was stand there, frozen in horror. The Catcher turned and left again, and Sara’s mind slowly ground back into motion again. How was that possible? The ball hadn’t touched him. He should have broken out of it. Something should have been different. Then, the awful truth stuck her. It’s the same as the Pokémon Catchers bring with them. They just send them out and bring them back whenever they want. That means… Sara’s heart sank. They own us now. There isn’t anything we can do. Sara lowered herself to the floor, burying her face in her paws and wrapping her leafy tail around to cover her head. Never in her life had the Leafeon felt so completely helpless. All she could do was wait – and hope the Catchers brought her mate back.

    It could have been an eternity later when they finally did. Sara hadn’t moved in the whole time, and fear for her mate had been the only thing on her mind. The Catcher pulled out two balls; with one flash, a terrified Pikachu disappeared, and then the second ball opened and Luke appeared once more in the cell. The Catcher walked away again. Sara’s mate looked around and saw her, taking a few weary steps in her direction, and she rushed to him, inserting her head and shoulders under his foreleg to take some of his weight. “Lean on me,” she soothed. She helped him across to the water basin in the corner and waited while he drank. What will we do now?

    Once Luke had finished and settled down, she asked, “What happened? What did they do?”

    Her mate thought back for a moment. “Well, they put me in the ball… I mean, I was in one once, for a few seconds, but I broke out. I just couldn’t break this one, though. I don’t know why, but nothing I did worked.” Sara shivered a little. She hadn’t ever been inside a Catcher’s ball… except now – but she’d been unconscious and had no memory of what it had been like. Luke continued. “After a few minutes, they let me out. I was in some kind of box; I could see more Catchers through the top, but I couldn’t get to them because there was something clear in the way. It smelled like there had been Pokémon in there before – lots of them, all kinds. The floor started moving, so I had to walk or get pushed into the wall. Once I did, it started getting faster.” The Flareon bared his teeth. “They just… kept watching me. Once it got so fast I couldn’t keep up, they slowed it down a little, but then they just kept it going until I couldn’t run anymore. Then they stopped it and used the ball again… I didn’t even care then. When I came out, it was in a cell like this one, but little. There was water and food… then they put me back in the box and made me run again. I don’t even know why.” Luke sighed. “It’s almost like they think we’re the same as the old animals. That we can’t think, or feel. Or maybe they’re the ones who can’t feel.” The Flareon shook his head. “Anyway… after that, they put me in the ball again, and then they brought me back here.”

    A crowd had gathered as Luke told his story. “So do you think that’s how they put us all in here?” a Furret asked.

    “I don’t know,” Luke replied wearily. “After the beating I got, I don’t remember anything except waking up here. It makes sense, though… It’ll be a lot harder to get out if that thing doesn’t open.”

    “You’re still going to try?” a Raichu asked.

    Another weary nod. “This isn’t a life here. There’s got to be a way out.”

    A murmur of approval spread through the surrounding Pokémon. Sara felt ashamed for having given up earlier; even after being pushed to his limits at the hands of Catchers, Luke was still determined. He looked around at them all, then ignored them and turned his attention to Sara, who still sat next to him. The Pokémon started to disperse.

    “I wish I was like you,” she admitted to her mate. “Maybe if I’d been stronger, I could have protected our children.”

    “I’m glad you’re not.” Luke whispered the words, so only she could hear.  The statement took her by surprise, and she turned to look at him clearly. “You taught them the right reasons for things. You made our home a good one. Fighting isn’t everything, no matter what Catchers think.” He laughed. “No matter what I think sometimes, either. You make everything worth it for me.”

    Sara leaned into his warm, soft mane again. “I’m glad,” she whispered. “Not that you’re in here… but that you’re with me.”

    She closed her eyes, but she could still feel Luke’s nod. “I’m glad too. Whatever happens… We’ll get through it. Together.”