Bridging The Gap; The Final Records In Unova: An Autobiography

Preying On The Weak

"I'm hungry, I'm thirsty, I'm tired, and I want to get a proper night's sleep!" June bemoaned.

"I'm with you, June," I mumbled, feeling so drained that I could barely get my lips to move. "At least... it's almost... nighttime." The sun was setting, the heat not so intense but still sapping what little energy I had left inside of me. June's feet dragged through the sand, not lifting up an inch, and my feet were doing the exact same thing. I hope it's a lot more comfortable inside of the Poke Balls for our Pokemon, I thought.

It had been days of us traveling. How many days? I had no idea. Since we had entered this desert, I'd witnessed the sun set at least four times, but it felt like we'd been here for much longer. I hoped that it had been a much shorter period of time, but I feared that we may have been here for at least a week. June and I were both filthy, covered in sand, and completely out of water.

June dropped to her knees and then slowly slid further down.

"June," I breathed with exhaustion. "Please."

June collapsed in the sand on her face and didn't move.

I took a step towards her and stumbled, falling to my knees near her. "June..." I slowly, weakly, reached out and grabbed her shoulder, but I had no energy to shake her. My hand slid off of her, into the sand. I can't keep this up any longer, I thought to myself. I don't have any energy. Even with the sun setting, I just can't keep this up. Even thinking is making me exhausted.

The sun had just gone down, disappearing from view, the sky darkening even further.

What are we gonna do? I wondered. We can't just stay here like this. Cooler air blew around me, but it wasn't helping any. I needed water. I needed a bed. I needed proper sleep. Where are we? I looked around, but as usual, I saw nothing but sand stretching into infinity, a cactus in the distance. Against my will, my body dropped down and I fell on my side, staring at June as my eyes began to close. This is it, I told myself. This is as far as we're gonna get. This is our journey through Unova. Sand flew into my face, the wind blowing a little bit harder.

A strange noise rustled through the sand, almost sounding like footsteps.

Must be my imagination, I convinced myself. I'm totally losing it. I'm finished. It's over for me and June. No more energy left. I can't even move.

The shuffling sound continued. It had a slow pace to it.

What is that? I was too tired to turn around to see what it was. Is it getting... closer? No. It's just the sand being tossed about by the wind. Or, maybe it's help from someone? Maybe... If so, let them save us. I just can't...

The sounds were indeed getting closer. They kept at a slow pace, but got slightly louder with time.

Melissa? I remembered the hallucination I had seen in the desert a few days ago. That thought flung my eyelids open and I squinted through the sand at June.

She was still in the sand, not moving, facedown.

Poor June. As the sounds got closer to us, I realized that we could be in some kind of danger. I felt that, with June unconscious, we, and our Pokemon, were at risk. I have to keep us all safe if I can. I have to! Groaning, I found strength inside of me and pushed myself up, forcing myself to turn around onto my back, and I sat up as I squinted into the sand. "Huh?"

Nobody was out there. The only thing I could see was that cactus.

I stared at it for a long time, silently, breathing hard through my dry nostrils, my dry throat aching. A cactus! I thought excitedly as a light bulb went on over my head. Of course! They have water in them! Panting, I crawled over to June and grabbed her shoulder again, shaking it hard. "June! I think I've found some water. Or juice or whatever. There's a cactus over there. Come on."