Of Hellos and Goodbyes Part 3

Previous Pastes :
The Story Begins: https://pastebin.com/6BNjdkth
Of Hellos and Goodbyes part 1: https://pastebin.com/UHtWeUCW
Of Hellos and Goodbyes part 2: https://pastebin.com/zScK7QWm

The Moon shone over the trees of the forest.

“Where are we going?” I asked, ducking a tree branch, trying to keep up with his long strides. The Last thing I wanted to do was get lost out here with only Madoc tucked in my shirt.

“We are going to check out where they found the Bulbasaur.” He paused and looked back at me. “Are you okay? “

“Yeah, I just don’t go hiking that often.” I was trying not to pant. “How far?”

“Just a little farther. Do you need to rest?”

“Nah, no I’m good.” I waved him away. “Just try to slow down a little.”

“As you wish.”  He turned and kept walking, but slower this time.

I followed, trying to keep my eyes on the ground and his back at the same time. The ground was relatively flat, but the roots of the thick trees stuck up at odd angles. I had no intentions to break my ankle tonight.

As we walked I noticed that the path seemed to smooth out though, and less branches were clinging to my clothes. Soon we could walk side by side between the trees. A cool breeze blew through the trees, and there was a soft hum of insects.

“I didn’t know all this was back here. It beautiful.”

“It’s not easy to get in here, so the area is mostly untouched. I’m one of the only one who knows how to get in and out. “

A comfortable silence fell over us as we walked. I eyed him through the shifting shadows, my mind wandering as we walked .

I never had many friends in person. Sure I kept up a small cadre of internet friends and my coworkers occasionally met up for dinner and drinks. Still I was awkward and unsure of myself, the end result of a conga line of abuse and neglect. I had pretended it never bothered me, played the part of a fool and found a place among others. I had pushed the Loneliness to the side and focused on building a new, albeit hallow, life for myself.  It had been workable,

But here, in this world I had escaped too many a time before in my head, I felt more comfortable with myself, like my skin finally fit.  This was freeing and disturbing in equal measure. On some level I was glad to have escaped the feeling of constant isolation. At the same time some other feeling I couldn’t place made my stomach churn with longing when I thought of my home.

“Acadia? You still with me?”

I started as the voice brought me back to the situation. Mark had paced ahead of me, and had paused where a curtain of leaves blocked the path. He was smiling softly, knowing he had caught me out. I blushed at the implied laughter.

“What?” I snapped, a little harsher than intended. His smile widened.

“Wanted to show you something. Come here, and close your eyes.”

After a Moment of hesitation I complied, feeling foolish. I felt him place and hand on my back and heard the rustle of leaves. He steered me forward and the stopped me, placing a hand on my shoulder to rotate me. He reached down towards my hand and I felt my heart stop. What was he doing?

‘Click’ went my flashlight.

“Okay you can look now.”

“You turned off my flashlight.”

“Just trust me okay?”

I rolled my eyes, though I was sure the effect was lost through my eyelids, and did as I was told.
As the world came into focus I felt my heart soar at the sight. It was clearing with a little pond in middle, ringed by low ferns and fed by a small waterfall. Above the moon was blocked by a roof of trees, but yet there was light. A thousand Sparkling points of light drifted through the clearing, suspended in air. At first I thought they were lightning bugs, but upon closer inspection they proved to be motes, glowing softly in a Myriad of hues.  I reached out and scooped up one, holding it gently in cupped hands.  Madoc reached out from my shirt and batted at it with a pleased murr.

“What is it?” I breathed.

“It’s a type of flower that grows in the caves behind the waterfall. This time of year they release their pollen, and at night you can see the excess coming from the cave. Fire type pokemon love this, it’s like a sugar to them, so you can occasional find them coming up here to eat the flowers.”

“It’s amazing.”

“That too.”

I looked up and watched as the pollen danced across the sky. Now that I knew what I was looking at I could follow the path it took.  Slow, rolling waves mixed with the foam of the waterfalls end and spilled out over the pond. There the flows and eddies of the breezes picked them up and tossed them into the air, like small children with confetti, where they hung suspended almost, in the air.

I took a step forward, wanting to get closer to pond.

“No Ac-”

Mark’s warning was a second too late as I felt the unpleasant lurch of my foot meeting air. I had never been very good at the whole “spatial sense” thing, and in my excitement and the low light had failed to notice the sharp drop that lead down to the pond.

I was falling, then bouncing down the slope, trying desperately to stop before I rolled into the pond. I rolled lopsidedly down the slope, catching my leg on branches and brambles, before slamming into something squishy.

I heard a scrambling sound and shouting and then Mark was standing over me.

“Hey, are you okay?” He said helping me to stand.

“Nothing hurt but my pride. Thank god for a soft landing “ I said trying to shake off the adrenaline. “Figured I would take a short cut.”

“Looks to me like you just lost your footing.” his voice was drier than the desert.

“The only thing I have lost is my flashlight. “ I said crouching down to avoid the issue. “Turn on your ligh-"

I stopped as something new creeped into my senses, a smell, strange and sickly sweet. A tang of Iron, and something that sent my brain into overdrive. The sense of growing dread was confirmed when the beam of Marks flashlight caught something orange in it’s glow.

There laying before me, still as the grave, was a Charmander. It was stretched out spread eagle on it’s back, laid open from gullet to the end of its tail. My hand was just above it’s stomach and I could still feel the heat radiating off of it.

My eyes strayed towards the surrounding area. Half a dozen more  lay in the same state, surrounding my flashlight tucked against the rock that had stopped me.

‘Rocks aren’t squishy.’ I felt my stomach lurch as I snatched up my flashlight and with shaking hesitant hands switched it on. Turning the beam towards the shape I felt my heart drop, like a nuclear bomb. The shape was large, with fierce claws and a long neck. Twin horns stuck out from it's head. It back was bloody and flayed, with twin stumps where it's wings should be. It might have been a magnificent creature, but here it lay, broken on the floor, in a pool of quickly cooling viscera.

"What could do this?" I muttered.

"I don't know." Mark's voice was cold with anger. "But we are going to find out."