The World Without Them || Original Pokémon Fanfiction ✓

Chapter Fifty-Four: Intrusion

Navigating their way back to the road took much longer than Frost would have liked, but the fact that they made it back at all was a feat in and of itself. The wind was now blowing directly on their faces, sending snowflakes and bits of ice into their eyes. The two humans kept their heads down as much as possible to avoid the onslaught, although in the end it proved almost useless.

The boy felt Mana wiggle around in his jacket before popping her head out of the gap in the fabric beneath his chin. She whined worriedly as he winced at the fierce cold that made his entire body numb.

"It's alright," he told her through gritted teeth. "This road has to end eventually."

The Pokémon didn't look convinced, but buried herself back in the warmth of his coat anyway. Sage, who had been trailing behind just a bit, picked up her pace so she could travel beside him. The pair hadn't talked much since they encountered the cemetery; there were too many words to be said but neither one of them were in the right state of mind to say them. Just by glancing over at the girl's face Frost could see that there was a lot more on her mind than just getting through the snowstorm.

"Whatever is out here can't be too faraway. Why build a huge gate in an empty part of the city and then still keep something at a distance? That just wouldn't make sense," the Iris stated.

"You're right, but it could be an extra precaution. Maybe Chloris thought that there would be people like us who try to figure out what he's doing."

Sage let out a heavy breath that appeared as a cloud. "I honestly wouldn't put anything past him."

They continued on for an uncountable amount of time. There was no way for them to know how far they had come let alone how much farther they still had to go. With every minute that passed Frost felt his frustration grow. Being in the dark about their situation was bad enough, but add the rising intensity of the storm they were trudging through to the equation and it equaled life-threatening danger, plain and simple.

The trio had just encountered a particularly deep patch of snow when the same, unnerving sound they had heard earlier reached Frost's ears. This time, however, Sage was the one to react first.

"Get down!" She commanded.

The runaway immediately did as he was told and allowed his legs to give out so he could land in the snow. Sage brought herself close to the ground as another truck barreled past. They watched as it cruised down the road before making a sharp turn. Frost was just about to get to his feet again when his partner began to aggressively tap his arm.

"What is it?" He questioned, moving out of her reach as he rubbed the area she had assaulted.

"Look up ahead to where the truck went, I think I see something."

The Silverkeep native turned to look in the direction she was referring to, and even Mana stuck her head out to do the same. At first all he saw was the red taillights of the truck peeking out through the thick fog, but then something else registered that he hadn't noticed before. A few dim, white lights that he had mistaken for falling snow could be seen. They were spaced apart and placed up high so it was clear they did not belong to a vehicle.

On the contrary, they looked as if they were attached to a building.

"We have to get closer," the brunette said, snapping Frost out of his observations. "Let's follow the road until we can see what that is up ahead. We'll go from there."

Frost tried his best to steel himself as Sage began walking again. They traveled at a slower pace so that their movement wouldn't be as easily detected. Now that they were closer to what they presumed was the place they had been seeking, the boy felt some kind of new, frightening pressure begin to creep in on him. He didn't know where they were or what they were up against, but that would all change in a matter of minutes.