Unnatural

Refugees

Following White

Two days after the events of Ch. 6 (The After-Effects of Being Visited by Your Alternate)

White was trudging across the region now. Her legs felt like they were made of lead, and it hurt each time she took a step. Her body was screaming at her to stop and rest, but the girl squeezed her splinted wrist again, sending a dull spike of pain up her arm. "Not yet. I may not be bugged, but that doesn't mean Flare couldn't using their Pokémon to track me. I shouldn't stop."

As the girl traversed the region, she had allowed herself to slow down enough to pull berries off the bushes she passed to eat and regain some of her strength. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to keep the sleep her body was craving at bay. The pain of messing with her wrist had worked for a while, though that was quickly starting to fail as well.

"Black would kill me for not finding a place to rest, even for a few minutes, but I don't want to risk falling asleep for too long. I can rest once I reunite with my friends...wherever they may be right now. That's another thing that's been keeping me going. Wanting to make sure they are alright. I have no idea what state those grunts had left them. If they were found by a group of clones, they could be alright thanks to Emi being with them..."

White had passed some clones on her trek, but didn't attempt to stick around to see if they had noticed her or recognized her. She didn't have a lot of time to waste and was worried that if she had bothered to stop, she either would be too tired to leave right away or would unintentionally drag the pod into her situation.

"Can't stop yet. Need to stay awake. Need to stay focused, especially if I come across another river." Sometime after her running declined into a slow jog, White had come across a large river. Knowing that creating or searching for a clone created bridge would only burn through more of her energy and time, she had jumped into the water and swam across the river. She had managed to climb out a couple yards downstream, which left her completely soaked and cold, though also rehydrate.

Unfortunately, she didn't have anything on her to carry some of the river water with her. She had tried using the bag of marbles from her Flare ally, but it was both too small for her liking and did not close well enough to hold any of the water she had managed to gather. In the end, she had just used it to scoop and drink the water.

Now, after hours of slogging and stumbling her way across the region, White was getting very thirsty again. "I need to find another source of water. I don't care if there are any clones around, if it comes from another river or stream, or a bit of juice from a berry. I need something to drink. My vision is getting spinny and starry."

Understanding how she had not passed out yet was not one of her current concerns. All she knew and was willing to be concerned with was the fact that she was functioning on fumes. "Keep moving. Grab and eat a berry. Pinch your wrist to stay awake. Don't stop." Her gaze turned upward as she let her thoughts drift. "I wonder if...hope that Golbat found everyone and let them know I'm making my way back to them. It'd be nice to meet them halfway. God, I hope we run into one another soon. Imma pass out in t-minus two minutes." White groaned as she staggered forward. Her knees suddenly buckled underneath her. "...no...no...no...!"

The ground suddenly rushed up to greet her as she lost all feeling in her legs.

"Ah—Shiiitt!" Her face disappeared into the ground as her body was dragged down by gravity. Pain ran across her face and up her arm, but she was too exhausted to move or care. "...I think I'll just...lay here for a second. I'm sure...my friends will understand. I've covered a lot of ground already, right?"