Uncontained

I cursed myself after that.

"Florence, she was probably going to get hurt," I worried to the sleeping pikachu. "I should've said something. God damn it, I should've said something."

Florence only snored in my arms.

I left Viridian uneasily and imagined gang-rape and sex trafficking and other horrible things. Kanto was a relatively safe region; that's why a lot of trainers went on League Challenges, but there was really no way to know what events could come up on your way. If a trainer wasn't experienced enough in the wilderness or city streets, they could die. Usually if someone wanted to be a trainer, they went to Trainer's School for a safe education around Pokemon. I went to a normal public school, but I knew how to survive from self-defense lessons with Malachi's dad. I had enough confidence in myself I could survive for a while on my own. I wasn't sure about Spirit.

After traveling for a bit, I got my mind somewhat off of her and Florence woke up. I filled her in that I'd caught a nidoran. I sent out Czeslaw to make introductions.

The purplish-pink Pokemon flattened his ears against his head on appearance. He had a semi-leathery, semi-scaly body with spines along the back and large ears. Buck-teeth stuck out from his lip. He was an oddity of a creature, but I wasn't stupid enough to assume he wasn't dangerous. He had claws, something that Florence didn't have.

"Hey, so I'm going to call you Czeslaw," I said. "I'm Beau, and this is Florence. I was hoping you'd be a good sparring partner for her. What do you think?"

In response, Czeslaw turned up his nose, narrowed his eyes, and trotted away.

Florence cried.

"Geez, fine then." I tucked Florence in my arms and followed him. "You don't even know where you're going. And you don't have to be an asshole."

Czeslaw ignored me.

I followed him for a while before I consulted the map. I stopped in the path and he kept going until he realized I wasn't following. Then he turned around and glowered with red eyes.

"I doubt you've been out as far as we've been going," I stated. "You might as well stay put."

Czeslaw sat down and waited until I found a trail. After I folded the map and put it away, he moved on again. Surprisingly, he moved the same way my mental path did. Eventually we reached a sign that read: "Viridian Forest."

Florence hopped onto my shoulder and we entered the thick woods.

When the sun sank I began to regret not staying at Viridian for a night because there was no way we were going to make it to Pewter City. I was going to have to set up camp and I was not particularly looking forward to that. I wondered what Malachi was doing. A bitterness rose in my throat when I remembered what I was doing out here and what I would return to if I left. An empty home. No neurotic mother that fussed over my hair and didn't believe in watching movies. No mother that had a whip specific for kids that tried to steal our lawn gnomes. No mom that burned my report cards as a sacrifice to the Good-Grades God. No crazy mom. I didn't have anyone to return to and all I had were my stupid Pokemon that I didn't want in the first place.

"Hey Czes," I called. The nidoran stopped and looked back. At least he was responding to the name I gave him. Maybe Pokemon could understand me. "We need to stop for the night. We'll go on a bit more before we set up camp, okay?"

The nidoran merely turned forward and moved on.

I grumbled a few curses and Florence patted the back of my head. It gave me comfort to know she was on my side, however small the gesture was. But then Czeslaw took a right turn. We were supposed to go left.

"Czeslaw."

The nidoran halted and gave me a steady glare, He turned his head pointedly to the direction he was going. "No," I said. "We need to go left. It's faster."

Czeslaw growled and jabbed his nose right. I scowled. "Do I need to show you the map? Left is faster. Come on." I plowed down the left path. The trees were thinner here. Ferns and bushes were sparse and scratches were left on the trees; obviously a lot of people came down this path and marked it.

Then something stabbed my leg.

"Fuck!" I leaped away and Czeslaw glowered at me, blood on his horn where he punctured me. The wound stung. "Fucking shit, you little asshole," I spat. "What was that for!?"

Czeslaw pointed his nose right and Florence started crying.

"For the last time, no, left is fucking faster. Now come on."

I stalked down the trail and the path grew less distinct. Czeslaw begrudgingly followed. The trail became mushy and less hardened than it was before, but the scratches on the trees were more prominent. I frowned. The bark was flayed white against brown and it didn't look like a human's doing anymore. Florence wound her tiny fingers into my hair. Czeslaw flattened his ears against his head. I had a sudden unnerving feeling that the Pokemon knew something I didn't.

That was when I heard the humming.

"What the-"

But then I saw it. There was a massive, looming hive crawling with beedrill.

I stiffened like I'd touched an electric fence. I'd heard horror stories of people dying from beedrill stings. Their limbs would swell up, throat would close off, and they'd break out in bleeding rashes. If they didn't bleed to death first, they suffocated. If they didn't get medicine right away they'd die, and it was a gruesome death. One that I was not interested in having. I backed away. "Fucking shit," I hissed.

The buzzing practically vibrated through my bones. The hive was built like paper mache on the outside and the giant bugs crept in and out on the foundation. Their eyes shined and their abdomens throbbed. They didn't notice me and I was glad. I continued to back up. A beedrill sharpened its stingers on the wood of a tree. Sweat pooled down my temples.

But then I stepped on a twig.

The noise silenced the hive all at once. I couldn't breathe. Florence stiffened against me and I felt her tears plop against my shoulder. Czeslaw's scaly body tensed beside me. For a long moment, nothing happened. The beedrill remained frozen. But then, three beedrill peeled off from the hive and charged straight at me.

I ran.

Czeslaw tore ahead of me. He was right. That little bastard was right all along. Going right was the better way and I sure hoped he knew where he was going now. "Czes!" I gasped. "Get us out!"

Czeslaw ducked and weaved through the paths.

The buzzing roared in my ears and I could suddenly feel the heat coming off the beedrill's wings. I let out a cry of desperation, but then the weight on my shoulders lifted. I snapped my head around. At that moment I saw Florence between the beedrill's stingers screaming. A wild emotion surged in my chest and I shrieked. "Florence!"

I stumbled to a halt and whipped out my pocketknife. I didn't give a fuck where Czeslaw was now, as long as he was running away. One of the beedrill charged me. Fueled by blind rage, I plunged my knife into the beedrill's thorax. White blood spurted out and I flung the creature away from me. The beedrill hit the ground, flailed uselessly, and then fell still. The one that had Florence was flying up into a tree. "Florence, you have to fight it!" I shouted.

The second beedrill lunged at me.

I didn't have a weapon but I was prepared to fight with my hands. I let out a roar and flung my fist out ready to crack through that mother-fucking exoskeleton, but something interrupted me. In a blur of purple, Czeslaw plunged his horn into the beedrill. The blow knocked it flat onto the ground. Czeslaw threw himself off of the body and whipped his head around. Our gazes met. I swear, in that moment, something passed between us. My silent apology and his forgiveness in a single nod. Then we changed our attention.

Florence was frozen in terror in the beedrill's stingers. It climbed higher and higher into the air. Was it going to drop her? Was it going to eat her?

"Florence, shock it! Hurry!" I yelled.

Sparks flew from her cheeks in desperation. The beedrill jerked in its flight, but it wasn't enough to deter it from its course. The stinger on its abdomen lengthened. It was going to kill her. "Florence, hurry!" I screamed.

And just before the beedrill pierced her, electricity surged from Florence's body.

The beedrill and her went down like a shooting star. I lunged forward and Florence leaped from the beedrill's grip. We connected like I had stuck my finger in an electrical socket. All my nerves exploded with pain from her shock but I grabbed onto of her like she was my life and crushed her against my chest. The beedrill plummeted to the ground in a smoking pile of limbs. Czeslaw rushed up to help. I dropped to my knees and crumpled in on myself. After what seemed like forever, the pain stopped.

"Oh my God," I breathed. "Florence, are you okay?"

Florence squeaked and squeezed my shirt with her hands.

"Shit." I tried to rise, but my legs were wobbling so bad I could barely do it. Somehow I managed. "Okay, we need to get out of here. Shit. I've got to get my pocketknife. Fuck."

I staggered to the dead beedrill. I was glad there wasn't a Pokemon Ranger nearby or else I would've been arrested. Killing a Pokemon was a serious crime and I was near delirious from fear. I just hoped if I got caught they'd make an exception since the beedrill was trying to kill me first. I held Florence in one arm and cracked the pocketknife from the creature's chest.

Then it's eyes flashed.

Suddenly it struck me in the leg. I screamed and threw myself back, but Czeslaw drove his foot into the beedrill's head. It fell still then. Then pain flared up my entire leg.

"Oh my fucking God." I was dead. I knew it, I was dead. I staggered away, practically flailing around since my leg refused to cooperate, and tried to find my way onto the path. The pain morphed into numbness and my leg felt as thick as lead. All of the sudden I was hobbling like a pirate; I had to swing it forward to get it to move. Florence cried out. "Oh my fucking God," I said.

The sun was barely shining over the horizon now. Florence pressed her face into me and Czeslaw's eyes flashed in the dark. "Czes, we need to get out of here," I said. " I think I'm going to die."

The nidoran's expression didn't change, but he nodded and led the way.

Unfortunately, I didn't make it that far.