Pokemon - From the Brink

Chapter 50 - One More Night

The intensity and ferocity of the calamity was too horrific to bear. In the dead of night, Brazil became the epicentre of the worst tragedy the world had ever known.

It came on the wind – a stale breeze that tore through the country with all the power of a raging typhoon, and yet made almost no sound. In reality, it was the screams of those conscious to witness it that alerted others to their doom.

Colossal fingers of blackest night raked across roughly a million square kilometres with each swipe, eviscerating all sentient life they touched. No buildings were damaged, and yet the people were slain in their homes, the killer plunging through the walls like a spectre in the night. Every death was instantaneous, with no time for pain. The populous was simply razed where they stood, with no trace of their physical selves having ever existed.

All it took was a measly 2 minutes to wipe out an entire country worth of people. Even those who were awake at the time and aware that something was happening stood no chance – the plague sweeping their nation was thorough and ruthless. Emergency calls were made, but by the time a line connected, the person on at least one of the ends was already dead. And it wasn't long before the same was true for everyone.

Some had tried to flee by getting in their cars, but they too were cleaved from their mortal coil, leaving their cars to roll down the streets. This posed no danger though – because there was no longer anyone alive to be struck by a stray vehicle.

Traffic lights still buzzed, and some lights still illuminated the night sky, but when the cars crashed and burned, there was no one around to hear it. Alarms would sound, but nobody would ever come to turn them off.

Highways were littered with cars and trucks that had crashed into each other, some overturned and some flaming as their crumpled hoods leaked flammable fuel – but none of it mattered as the roads ignited and smoke filled the air, for no one could smell the burning asphalt.

Over 210 million people were killed in the blink of an eye, and nobody even knew what was happening. That was just Brazil alone – its neighbouring countries no doubt experienced at least some of the same fate. Over half of the entire population of South America had been decimated.

It wasn't until the early hours of the morning when a passing boat sailing by the coast of São Paolo docked out of curiosity that the reality of the devastation became known worldwide.

The small crew stepped onto land to find it eerily quiet, and no matter where they went, every establishment was empty. Nobody answered their front doors, and the city was a desolate wasteland, with no signs of life.

They called back to their home country, and, within the next few hours, search and rescue teams were flown in from worldwide along with military forces, with news crews and journalists eager to record what was going on. But in reality, they had nothing to go on. Brazil was completely abandoned. It was as if South America had had its heart pulled clean from its chest.

The only thing anyone found in Brazil amongst the cold and quiet wreckage of the phantom massacre was a single, lonely infant.

Somehow, by some twisted fate, one baby had managed to avoid the fate of so many. It was found right by the border between Brazil and Bolivia, in a town that was also completely empty. No people, no Pokemon – nothing. The first responders tried venturing into Bolivia itself to find people, but it too was eerily mute. The only living sound came from the crying little baby girl, who had been found wrapped up in a blanket, covered in dirt in a sandy ditch.

As the medic picked up the infant and cradled her as she wailed and screamed about a tragedy she knew nothing of, the reporters and soldiers alike felt a great wave of dread wash over them. It was uncharacteristically cool for the time of year, and it made them shudder.