The Conductor (Jolteon x Vaporeon)

Chapter 7 - Memories

He was surrounded.

Every which way he looked, Tempest saw another toothy smirk hovering in the shadows, closing in from all directions. The small fox Pokémon trembled where he stood, cowering as he tried to look for a break in the circle of silhouettes, his heart pounding. He had been caught by hunting pack of houndoom while scavenging for anything he could find.

"Look at this little scrap, probably not even worth our time!"

The dark types began snickering maniacally, closing in around the cowering Tempest. He began crying in fear, hunkering down where he stood, rapidly turning to look in every direction to make sure none of them were reaching to strike.

Some of them were taunting him, flashing their claws or gnashing their teeth together, snapping their jaws or blowing small flames. Every time Tempest flinched, they laughed harder, all their eyes trained on their prey.

"Little runt is too small, probably couldn't even feed two of us, let alone a whole pack!"

The heat in the air was rising along with the tension as the houndoom pack grew closer, their teeth and horns glinting in the light, their faces and bodies blanketed by strange, nightmarish shadows. Tempest felt an immense amount of pressure as the hunters continued to berate him with their taunts.

"Little shit's shaking like a leaf! We should just put him out of his misery already!"

As the dog-like mons began bellowing out in laughter once more, one of them took a step forward, a malicious sheen in its eyes. It was larger than the rest, it's horns much longer and curved back. It wore a different looking skull pendant from the band around its neck, far more detailed and intimidating than the rest.

Tempest could smell the horrid stench of the toxins on their breath as the apparent leader of the pack was moving in for the kill, still snickering as it raised its paw, claws out. Tempest saw his opportunity and let out a cry, leaping forward. He ducked between the houndoom's legs and made a break for the gap in the circle, thrusting his legs as hard as he could.

"Hey, you missed dumbass! The brat's getting away!"

The circle immediately broke into chaos, laughing turning to growling as each of the dark-type dogs broke into a panic. Tempest had managed to slip through the opening, but not unscathed. Just as he was passing by, one of the houndooms had reacted quick enough to snap their head in his direction, spitting out a vile, scorching ember attack.

The pellet of fire blasted Tempest in the face, causing him to scream out in pain as the toxins set in, the burning pain biting deeper and deeper into his skin, burrowing into him like needles. It hurt so bad that tears were streaming out of his unburned eye, but he couldn't stop now.

Tempest's life depended on how fast he could go, and he didn't dare slow down for even a second. Dead trees and stumps became a blur as he pumped his legs like pistons, gingerly leaping over roots and rocks as he sprinted. His heart was pounding so wildly in his chest, it hurt, but not as bad as his face.

The sound of heavy paw steps lingered only moments behind him, filling Tempest with dread as the smell of death grew closer. They were much larger and running just as fast as him, if not faster. He needed to shake them somehow.

Tempest rounded the thick, dry stump of what was once a tree, diving into the nearest, densest bush he could find. It was wilted and leafless, but thick enough with branches that it's brown color would conceal him.

Scouring the ground with his paws, Tempest found a large rock, quickly plucking it off the ground and chucking it over away from where he was, into a cluster of dead shrubbery. The heavy thunk and the shuffling of branches caught the attention of the houndoom pack, making them think their prey had run in that direction, all of them sprinting over near where the rock had landed, and away from Tempest's bush.