Rayla's Ascent

ESCAPE!: Chapter 11

Water floods her clothes and bubbles burst from her mouth as she tries to swim upwards, but sinking debris and rock continuously block her path. Luckily her satchel maintained its station around her shoulder so she reaches into it and finds the surface of a Pokeball and presses its button with all her might. Horsea materializes in front of her and immediately grabs her satchel with its mouth. It moves through the broken debris as if it were flying through the air, and just as Rayla uses her last bit of oxygen and is forced to take a breath, she is met with the brisk air of the forest.

She can still hear the landslide behind her, but as of now, all of her focus is on survival. She is struck in the back by a giant oak log but it's moving slow enough downriver for her to grab a hold of it and sling her body over its surface. She breathes frantically trying to catch her breath, but a sudden thud next to her gains her attention. Ledian has landed on the log and, in his grasp, is the terrarium with a frightened Vulpix hiding in its canopy inside.

"Oh, thank goodness," she whispers, exhaling all of her worrisome anxiety in an instant. "We made it."

However, as if on cue, Rayla's worry worsens when the foe's Noctowl swoops down and grabs the terrarium from Ledian's grasp. The bald man's hand jumps out of the water and latches on to the other end of the oak log. She sees the other Silver Gang member a few meters away on his own oak log, with the vicious Raticate ready to pounce at any given moment. Rayla and Ledian both look at each other and give an acknowledging look.

"It's not over yet," Rayla says, much more confidently than she seemed only a few minutes ago. "Go deal with Noctowl, Horsea and I will take it from here."

Ledian nods his head and flies up into the sky after Vulpix and Noctowl.

"This is what all of our training was for, Horsea. Let's do this."

Horsea dives under the water and swims behind the other log. From underneath, she can hear Rayla shout the words 'Rapid Spin' so it does exactly that. Horsea spins its body around and disrupts the current underneath the log, sending it spinning and shaking. The river's current seems to get even faster now that its' edges are getting farther and farther apart, and there are many rocks and low-hanging trees farther downstream. Rayla knows that this fight needs to be wrapped up quickly, or else they're all in danger.

"Horsea! Hit it from underneath!" she yells, and a moment later one edge of the other log is thrown into the air. This knocks the Silver Gang member off balance and into the water, leaving the Raticate there alone. Rayla's brief moment of accomplishment is ruined when she hears a loud yell coming from behind her. The other bald member is now standing before her at the other end of the log, and his expression seems even more angry than last time.

"Raticate!" he shouts, "Do what you gotta do to take that thing down!"

"Why are you doing this?!" cries Rayla. "Why are you hunting us down?!"

"I think you already know," he responds menacingly. "And now that we have it, we can't leave any witnesses. That's you."

Rayla's stomach turns as she listens to the man and watches the enemy Raticate fight off her Horsea. Is this why the Silver Gang hasn't been spotted in years? Because they 'don't leave witnesses'? She cries out in anger from thinking that the same fate that her father met might be coming to her now. But no, it won't.

"I refuse," she thinks before repeating it again out loud. "I refuse to let you get away with this. The Silver Gang may be powerful, and they may be tactful enough to not get caught, but I assure you! All of that ends with me!"

"Are you so self-righteous to actually believe that?" he shouts back. "Even if you miraculously defeat me and 'save the day'," he says mockingly, "you still won't be able to defeat the likes of Liam and Elizabeth!"

"Who?"

"Ah, sweetheart, you won't live to find out," he threatens. He charges forward and swings at her but Rayla ducks beneath him and runs to the other end of the log. On the other side of the river, Horsea battles with Raticate, and what Rayla thought would be an even matchup is actually a beating. Horsea is new to battling and it hasn't been in a real one like this yet. Without Rayla there coaching her, Horsea will inevitably lose, and Raticate taking Horsea down 'no matter what' does not sit well with Rayla.

"Horsea!" she shouts. "Use Double Team! Keep evading until I give you an order! I won't let you get hurt anymore!"

Horsea acknowledges her and begins moving with high mobility, dodging the next Super Fang attack released by Raticate, but judging by the cuts on its body, It hasn't done a superb job at evading up until now.

"You're not getting away from me!" shouts the man as he swings at Rayla once more. She ducks underneath him again but he shifts his hips and knocks her off of the log. She begins gaining distance between her and her only place of safety but then remembers what her mother told her before she left.

"Don't forget your hook-rope, it will save your life."