Pokémon XYZ: Life, Death, Order, and Chaos (book 2 of the HBoD series)

Chapter 46: Talking of the Past

"WE SHOULD'VE WAITED A COUPLE DAYS!" Robert shouted over the roar of the wind, the blizzard intense.

"WE DIDN'T REALLY HAVE A CHOICE!" I yelled back to him, squinting through the seemingly endless white.

"WE ALREADY LOST THE PATH!" Alex struggled forwards, clasping her hand onto my shoulder, all of us barely being able to trudge through the snow. "WHAT NOW!?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" I couldn't see my own breath through the blizzard anymore. The temperature in this mountain getting colder, Arcanine, Pyroar, and Ninetales the three Pokemon the only things keeping us warm. In these extreme conditions, we didn't want to waste their energy by trying to melt the snow around us completely, as the blizzard was still going strong.

"WHY DIDN'T THEY HAVE ANY MAMOSWINES AGAIN!?" Alex shouted, and despite being right next to me, still sounded muted.

"BECAUSE WE'RE STILL IN THE SUMMER SEASON!" Robert yelled up to us. "IT'S NEVER REALLY THIS BAD APPARENTLY! THIS KIND OF WEATHER IS RARE DURING THIS TIME OF YEAR!"

"OH, I'M FEELING SO LUCKY RIGHT NOW!" I took another step forwards, only to find myself slipping. "WOAH!"

"ZENO!" Alex shouted, grabbing onto my arm. I dug my elbow into the snow, my feet trying to dig into the snow covered hill that sloped down. Arcanine barged through the snow, melting it as he went past. However, that only made things worse. The snow melted around our feet as he moved to help grab me with his mouth and Alex ended up slipping on puddles of water. I felt myself go weightless, then slammed into the snow, rolling downhill. 

I tried digging my elbows into the snow, barely managing to slow myself down, seeing something else rolling down towards me. Alex. She slammed into me, sending us both tumbling down faster. As we rolled, I could see the occasional flicker of flames heading for us. I heard something big slide past us and grab onto me. Suddenly I was weightless, feeling very warm. I turned my head to see Arcanine's face, the back of my coat in his mouth as he skidded down the hill, running to gain control. Ninetales was here as well, Alex in her maw.

Arcanine began sliding, trying to regain control. Whatever happened after that I didn't remember, everything suddenly going black.

...

I drifted in and out of consciousness, until finally I was alert enough to hear the crackling and popping of fire. I opened my eyes, a small fire to my left, the heat feeling good on my face, I tried to move, but a huge lump of fur was pushed up against my right side. I breathed in, smiling as I recognized Arcanine.

I sat up, feeling hard stone wall against my back. I looked around and sure enough, we were in a cave.

"Oh thank Arceus you're awake," Alex rushed over, grasping my hand. 

"Yeah," I smiled, then groaned, feeling my head. "How long was I out for?"

"A couple hours tops, I think," Alex didn't look very sure. Her coat was ripped in several places, Ninetales padding over to sit beside her trainer to keep her warm. I looked down at my own self, realizing my clothes had taken a beating too.

"I think I'm bruised in a couple places," I said, twinging as I pressed on my side. "Scratch that, I am. I don't think it's too bad."

"It isn't," Alex said quickly, looking away, a light blush spreading along her face. 

I looked past her to the cave entrance, the blizzard still ongoing. "It doesn't seem like it's going to stop anytime soon. Looks like we'll have to stay here a while." I looked around the cave. "Where's Robert?"

Alex shook her head. "I don't know. I'm pretty sure he didn't fall with us and I'm hoping Pyroar stayed with him."

Arcanine shifted, head looming over me and he gave me a big lick.