Shadows of Aura Chapter 1

Pokémon Shadows of Aura
Chapter 1: The Orb

Almia: The Haruba Desert 2014

The blazing sun scorched the sand causing a very wavy mirage. Bits of sand shuffled around as the wind pushed them along. Among the vast desert plain was a hoodless jeep gliding down the road. Riding in the jeep was a seventeen year boy by the name of Henry. Henry was your average seventeen year old boy. He had short brown hair and brown eyes. He wore A navy t-shirt, blue jeans, and black boots. With him was his good friend Professor Irvine. Professor Irvine was a middle aged man and a good friend of Henry's. He had black hair and green eyes. He wore a white T-shirt, tan pants, and brown boots. When Professor Irvine decided to go on this excavation he brought along Henry as a colleague. As they made their way down the road, Henry looked over to Irvine asked him, "Are you sure that we're heading towards the right cave? I mean there are literally hundreds of them out here." his voice jolty due to the bumpiness of the road.

"Of course I am Henry. I managed to triangulate where the cave is located by using the notes that I had, remember? I know exactly where it's at!" replied Irvine. He then glanced over at Henry. "So you excited?"

"I've been in your class for years, studying this subject. Of course I'm excited!" replied Henry enthusiastically. "I mean we may have found the tomb of Dalius, the legendary hero!"

"We may have Henry. We may very well have." replied Irvine. Irvine looked at the GPS on the dash of the jeep as he heard it play a catchy jingle.

"Now arriving at destination." said the lady on the GPS.

"Looks like we're here."  stated Henry as they drove by a series of cliffs.

"Seems so." said Irvine in agreement. He then pulled off to the side of the road, and parked his jeep next to the cliffs. "Alright Henry grab our bags." he ordered as he got out of the jeep.

Henry did as Irvine ordered; He got out of the jeep and walked around to the back. He then pulled over to him two black backpacks and opened them, checking their contents. At the same time, Irvine pulled out a map of the area and began examining it closely.  Henry looked inside the backpacks and found that there were basic medical supplies, a radio, a flashlight water and hoodies. He zipped the bags back up and made his way over to Irvine. "Here you are sir." said Henry offering Irvine one of the bags.

He took the backpack from his hands. "Thank you." he said graciously while throwing it over his back. He took one last glance at the map and looked back to Henry saying, "According to my map, the entrance to the cave should be in this general area." He looked back at the map folding it up placing it back in his pocket.

"We should split up and search for any clues to the whereabouts of the cave entrance." suggested Henry.

"Agreed. Good idea Henry." replied Irvine. "If you find something radio in. Good luck." He began to walk off examining the cliffs closely.  

Henry nodded. "Will do!" he said before beginning his search. Both he and Irvine searched for any clue as to where the entrance was. For the first half hour, they had no luck in finding it. But then, he noticed something. "Wait a second....." he said to himself. A few meters away was a crevice large enough for someone to slip through. Henry dashed over to it, his hopes raised as his heart tripled in beats. He placed his hand in front of it, and felt something amazing. He could feel gusts of wind coming out of the crevice. A large smile played across his lips. "Perfect!" He had found the entrance to the cave. He pulled out the radio, holding it close to him. "Professor! Professor!" he called.

"What is it Henry?" inquired Irvine over the other end of the radio.

"Professor, I think I've found it!" he said with complete excitement in his voice. "I really think I've found it!"

"Are you certain!?" replied the Professor with growing excitement in his voice.

"Positive. I found a crevice, and gusts of wind are coming out of it." answered Henry.  

"Stay right where you are!" ordered Irvine. "I'll be with you shortly." Within minutes Irvine rushed over to where Henry was. He stopped in front of the crevice standing next to Henry. He looked over to him and asked, "You think the cave's entrance is past this crevice?"

"I do believe so professor. Just place your hand in front of it." answered Henry.

Irvine did as Henry said, placing his hand in front of the crevice. Sure enough, he could feel a breeze pierce between his fingers. He let out a light satisfied chuckle. "Son of a bitch, you did find it!" He looked back up to Henry. "Good work kid!" he said patting him on the shoulder. He waved his hand. "Come on let's go through." he invited. He looked over to Henry. "Let me go first. I don't want both of us getting stuck."

Henry nodded. "Understood."

Irvine paced himself and carefully stepped into the very cramped crevice. Things became difficult after that. His movements were limited and there very little room for error. A few moments later however, he successfully slipped through. "Alright kid I'm through!" he called. "Your turn!"

Henry took a few deeps breathes before he approached the crevice. He wasn't claustrophobic; he just wasn't a fan of really tight spaces. "Ok...Henry you can do this." he said to himself. Henry slipped into the crevice, hoping for the best. He felt a sense of uneasiness travel down his spine as he felt the rock travel across his chest and stomach. Much like Irvine, his movements were limited. However a few moments later, he finally came out of the crevice. Surprisingly, there was natural light creeping its way into the cavity they had entered but only enough to dimly light the area. Henry pulled out his flashlight and shone it around. With him, he could see Irvine who had also lit his flashlight.

"Excellent you made it through kid!" exclaimed Irvine.

"Yeah thankfully!" shuddered Henry. "Being in a spot that tight makes me feel claustrophobic."  

Irvine let out a light chuckle. "I hear you there." He then shined his flashlight down the cavity. "Look down there." he said in half excited tone.  "I think you'll like what you see."

Henry shined his flashlight down the cavity and saw what he saw made him jump with joy inside. The beams of light revealed the mouth to a cave. "We found it! We actually found it!" exclaimed Henry with complete joy in his voice.

"Indeed we have." replied Irvine. "Let's head in and find ourselves a tomb."

"Let's..." replied Henry as both he and Irvine entered the mouth of the cave. The cave they had entered was not well lit in the slightest. Both Henry and Irvine had to use their flashlights in order to see anything in front of them. Inside, the cave gave small gusts of cool winds and something about it made them feel uneasy. Henry felt a cold shiver run down his spine as they traversed deeper into the cave. "Professor, do you……..feel that?" asked Henry  

"Indeed I do Henry. I feel as if we're…….unwelcome here." replied Irvine in a wary voice. "It feels as if something is with us.

Henry could feel himself heat up from being creeped out. "I have a bad feeling about this…….." said Henry in a bit of a shaky voice.

"It's probably just our imaginations." reassured Irvine. "I mean we are in dark cave, and I guess it would play mind games on you. I mean…..we both have played "Amnesia, and Penumbra and I guess dark areas would seem a little bit creepier after doing both of those."    

"Let's just change the subject." said Henry in a hasting tone.

"Ah yes…..I uh just about to say that!" stumbled Irvine. "So how's your wonderful girlfriend Jen doing?"

"She's doing alright. Things have been interesting between us." replied Henry is a sly tone.

A grin played its way onto Irvine's lips. "Oh really, and why is that?"  Before Henry could answer, they felt the ground begin to tremble violently underneath their feet.

"Wha-what's going on!?" cried out Henry, trying to keep his balance.

"It's a tremor!" replied Irvine as both he and Henry stumbled over. Henry's flashlight rolled out of his hands leaving him the darkness. A loud crashing sound filled Henry's ears as a part of the cave collapsed. A few seconds later, the ground stooped shaking as dust fell, settling on top of Henry.

Henry coughed up some dust and sat back up. He rubbed his head in order to relive his splitting headache. He looked around and noticed his lit flashlight nearby. He reached over to it and picked it up. He got back onto his feet and checked himself over. He could see that he had a few cuts on his arms, but nothing serious. He looked back down the cave and saw that the cave path he was on was now blocked with large chunks of rock. Henry looked around, searching for Irvine but could find no trace of him. "Professor?" he called.

No response.

Henry took a few more deep breathes. "Professor!" he called again.

"Henry!" called out a voice from behind the rocks. "Henry are you ok!"  

Henry ran up the rocks, seeing that there was a large enough hole for him to look through"h. He saw Irvine standing on the other side, much to his relief "Professor!"

"Thank God you're alright kid." Irvine let out a heavy sigh. "This isn't good. The tremor has caved you in, and it looks like there's no way through. What are we going to do?" he asked Henry.

"Ok, go back out and get some help. I'm gonna continue going down this cave to find the tomb. I may be able to find some other way out.

"No! Absolutely not!" protested Irvine. "I can't run the risk of you dying down here alone."

"But Professor, I can find it! I know it!" He looked at Irvine square in the eyes and could see that he was unmoved by his last statement. "We've come this far and we can't give up now! We're so close! Professor please……"

"Alright kid…." He sighed. "You can go." Henry let out a light chuckle, satisfied with his answer "But, I have some conditions!" he said sharply.

"Such as?" Henry inquired.

" First, we remain in radio contact the whole time. Second, you have two hours. I don't care how close you get; it's not worth your life Once your two hours are up, come right back to here. Third…." Irvine took off his backpack and pushed it through the hole. "take my supplies; you'll need them more than I."

"You got it Professor. Thank you." said Henry graciously. Henry bent over and searched through Irvine's bag pulling out his water, medical supplies and batteries to the flashlight. He then stuffed everything into his bag. He then got back up and walked over to the hole. "Alright Professor I'm ready."

Irvine shook his head. "Good luck Kid. Be careful."

Henry nodded his head. "I will thanks." He then turned away from Irvine and began making his way down the cave.

Irvine watched as Henry's flashlight was slowly consumed by the darkness, leaving himself alone in the cave. "You had better come out alive Henry." He let out a heavy sigh, as he pulled out a cigar and some matches. He pulled out a match, and streaked it across the side of the box, causing the match to light up. He placed the match up the cigar, igniting it. Irvine let out a large exhale, blowing out puffs of smoke. "You had better come back out alive."

--

Henry continued to traverse down the cave. The cave kept twisting and turning in its formation. He was quite surprised that the rest of the cave managed to hold its integrity after such a violent quake. He had been going down this path for at least twenty minutes, trying to find any sign of the tomb. The deeper he went, the colder he would become. After a few minutes of continuing down his path, he began to feel chills run down his spine. He pulled out his radio and held down the button to talk. "It's getting colder down here professor." He said.
"That's a good thing." He replied. "It means you're getting closer."

"I hope so professor." replied Henry.

"I suggest you put on the hoodie you packed. God knows how much deeper you have to go." suggested Irvine.

"Good idea." said Henry in full agreement. Henry took off his backpack and ravaged around to find his hoodie. After a few moments he pulled out his blue hoodie. He put down his flashlight and slipped it on over his head. Henry made his way over to his flashlight, but stopped when he noticed something down the cave. He looked down the cave and saw that a yellow glow came from the end of cave. He picked up his flashlight and pulled out his radio. "Professor….I have something you might be interested in."

"What is it kid?" inquired Irvine.

"There's a yellow glow at the end of the nearby." answered Henry.

"A yellow glow….." said Irvine.

"I'm going to check it out."

"Be careful kid I have a bad feeling about this." warned Irvine gravely

"I will." He replied. Henry made his way down the cave, his pace slow. He felt himself tense the closer he got. He felt a chill run down his spine. He felt as if though someone was waiting for him at the end of the cave. He reached the yellow and turned the corner of the cave, and what he saw amazed him. Around the corner of the cave were the ruins of a temple. The whole area was lit by burning torches. Henry burst into excited laughter. "No way! I found it!" Henry pulled out his radio. "Professor! Professor! I found it!"

"Are you serious!? You found it!?" exclaimed Irvine.

"Yes Professor! I did find!" he answered unable to hold his excitement. "You couldn't believe what I'm seeing right now" he said in complete awe.

"I wish I could see it but see what you can find." suggested Irvine.

"Alright." Henry began to pace toward the temple as he passed by a large fallen stone slab. Henry examined it with awe. "Wow this was one of the doors to the temple." He said to himself. He got back and looked down the exposed hall of the temple. Inside he could see a statue of an armored Lucario, holding a sword. "Dalius……" Henry whispered to himself as he made his way over the statue. Once he stood in front of it, he looked up at it with awe and wonder. He couldn't believe that this was the legendary hero of Almia. "Incredible……I'm in the tomb of the greatest Lucario who has ever lived!" He began to look away, until he saw a blue spherical object housed in front of the sword the statue possessed. Henry stared at it perplexed. "Huh? What is that?" He reached out to it and grasped it in his hands. Once he held it, the orb went from being a navy blue to a bright glowing blue that illuminated the entire room. "Oh wow! This thing's pretty cool!" he exclaimed. He then pulled out his radio. "Professor. I found something you might be interested in."

"Oh really? And what might that be?"

"I seemed to have found some kind of…..orb." he said while he rubbed the perfectly rounded and smooth object in his hands.

"An orb......could it be…….?" said Irvine hesitantly.

Henry tilted his head to the side. "Professor?"

"Henry! You hit the jackpot!" exclaimed Irvine. "Get back here! I'm going to go get help!"

Henry sighed to himself. It was a long way back. He then looked down at the orb and smiled to himelf. In the end, he knew it was worth it.