The World Without Them || Original Pokémon Fanfiction ✓

Chapter Fifty-Three: The Forgotten City

 Absolute nothingness.

 That's what the land beyond the gate felt like.

 Snow fell heavily and the cold stung Frost's eyes, forcing him to blink several times to clear his vision. Visibility was low, so low in fact that the wall behind them disappeared within just a few minutes of them stepping away from it. Mana was curled up in her partner's jacket to keep warm in spite of the weather, and Frost could only wish he had the chance to do the same.

 Sage led them away from Niska, her white outfit blending in with the surrounding landscape to the point where sometimes Frost had to pause for a second just to locate her again. The winds were picking up slowly but surely, and he knew that a snowstorm would inevitably hit sometime in the near future. Keeping that in mind, he stayed close to his partner.

 "We shouldn't be on this main road; there's no way to know when a truck will come by," Sage said as she pointed off to the right. "We can follow along beside it though."

 Frost nodded. "Anything to keep them from seeing us."

 With that, the two carefully made their way over the tire-worn, slick surface of the road and hopped down the small ledge on the other side. Frost was relieved when he landed in the soft yet deep snow -- the icy cement had been starting to dangerously test his balance. Sage too seemed a bit more comfortable now that she had solid footing. 

 Despite being hidden from direct view even more, the Silverkeep native's skin crawled with every foreign sound that reached his ears. The only noise the trio heard was the whistling of the freezing gust that sent chills down his spine. It was eerie, and he didn't like it one bit. 

 Suddenly, as they were walking along, a new sound came from behind them. Frost and Sage halted immediately and Mana poked her head out of the coat. The noise seemed faraway at first -- starting as a low hum before growing into a loud rumble. Then, they saw beams of light cut through the fog.

 "Get away from the road!" Frost hissed.

 He grabbed Sage's hand and tugged, prompting her to follow him. They moved as fast as they could through the white powder as a large truck traveled by and continued down the concrete path. They kept going for a few more seconds to make sure they were far enough away before stopping. Frost set a hand on his chest to calm the beating of his heart.

 "I need to stop getting so jumpy, this shit is going to take my life one day," he muttered under his breath.

 Sage let out a small breath of amusement between pants.

 "I'd rather have you be jumpy than not take precautions. It doesn't hurt to be careful."

 Frost just shook his head in exasperation and began walking in the same direction they had been headed before. He was about to reply when his foot caught on something hard beneath the snow. The teen grunted as he tripped and fell forward. Mana whined beneath him, and he could hear Sage hurry over by the crunching sound her footsteps made. The powder made it difficult for him to sit up straight, but luckily his comrade was able to help him by taking hold of his shoulder.

 "Are you two alright?" She asked as he propped himself up and Mana gasped for air.

 "Yeah, we're fine," he responded. He got to his feet and looked down before kicking the snow away to see what had tripped him. Within only a few seconds he had uncovered an unusual slab of stone standing upright. He raised an eyebrow and Sage knelt down to see better. 

 "That's weird. It looks like it was a part of something," she said more to herself than to Frost. She glanced up and surveyed the landscape before them. Frost was about to tell her that they should keep moving and that it was nothing when she pointed to something in the distance. "What's that?"