It had started out like any other day. It was early March, you had woken up and taken a quick shower. You brush your thin beard, and tie your shoulder-length brown hair into a short ponytail. Throwing on some lighter clothes, you climb into your truck and head to work. You worked in a refinery, forging the molten metal into sheets. It was hard work, the sweltering heat and heavy machinery made sure of that, and you hated every moment of it.
Recently there had been large groups of people protesting the facility, claiming that it was a hazard to the environment. The crowds made it nearly impossible to actually get inside,and they were getting more numerous every day. You could see them as you pulled up, blocking the front doors. You park your car in the front lot and make your way towards the front door. The crowd pulled at your clothes, shouting profanities and insults. You do your best to ignore them and push through. as you open the door however something occurs to you.
"YOU'RE ALL BREAKING THE LAW" after a moment of stunned silence the crowd begins to rage at your allegations, "YOU'RE BLOCKING THE FIRE ESCAPE ROUTE" you roar over their indignant cries "IT'S A FEDERAL OFFENSE" You enter the building and slam the door shut behind you.
"HIGGS You're late, and how many times do I have to tell you not to aggravate the protestors?" your supervisor calls down from one of the balconies "Get your ass in gear and get to your station,"
"I'll get my ass in gear when you get your ass in shape" you mutter to yourself as you grab your protective gear.
The rest of the day goes by as any other would, you shape and temper steel into the sheets required by many industries. Your ten hours are over before you realize, and you make your way out of the building, back through the crowd. Several of them seem to recognize you and one holds you back, you twist out of his grip only for something to hit you in the back.
"What the fuck" you turn to see a man holding a protest sign like a bat winding up for another swing. The crowd creates a space around the two of you as you duck under his second swing. You do your best to stay out of reach but the small circle makes that easier said than done. He's swinging like a madman, as if he was personally offended by your joke earlier. You just try not to engage, dodge rolling and sidestepping as much as your body will allow, eventually however you can't keep up and the solid wood pole hits you alongside the head,
"Gah!" you fall to the side clutching your right eye. Another blow hits your shoulder wracking your body with pain, you can hear your aggressor laughing and suggesting you keep your mouth shut in the future. You can barely see him winding up for a final swing.
It's all too much...
You white out
The first thing that comes back to you is the smell, blood. Next is sound, the people murmuring in hushed voices. Then sight, and you see what you've done. Your aggressor now lies crumpled on the ground, bleeding from all over his body, arms and legs twisted at disturbing angles, bones poking out in several places. His face is swollen and bloodied, teeth missing. There is little chance he's still alive. It takes you a moment to realize that you probably killed him. The bloodied sign pole in your hands confirms this. You take a few unsteady steps, and the crowd parts before you.
Run,
The fear fills your head, blocking out all other thought.
"I have to get away," You are much steadier as you reach your truck. Hopping up into the front seat, you start it up and peel out of the lot. You drive quickly, breaking several laws and ignoring speed limits. Your house was on the edge of your small mountain town, bordered on all sides by the forest. you throw the door open and begin to tear through your things looking for your camping supplies. You had gone camping numerous times in the past and you were confident in your survival skills. It doesn't take you long to find it, your hiking bag filled with your supplies. Some rain gear, a cooking pot, survival knife, rope, matches, a single person tent and various other small items. While searching you come across an item you thought you had gotten rid of. A pokeball, nothing special about it other than the M written carefully on it, almost worn away by age.
Just as you sling the bag over your shoulder something slams into your front door. "THIS IS THE POLICE, WE KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE, COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP"
"Shit they're already here" You had to hand it to her Jenny worked fast. "YOU CAN'T RUN ETHAN THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE"
You're already moving, grabbing a chair and heaving it through one of your rear windows. Apparently they heard, because your front door explodes in a ball of flame, and an Arcanine leaps through, you throw yourself out the window and make a mad dash for the woods.
The woods were a restricted area, enforced by law, it was illegal for anyone to enter, even police. You figure they won't follow you if you get far enough. The woods are restricted because of an unusually high number of deaths and disappearances in recent years. Around thirty percent of people who entered this forest didn't exit. It was deemed an unsafe area. You had been hiking and camping in these woods since you were a child. you had never once felt threatened or gotten lost, so you chalked up the disappearances to peoples stupidity, Your father had been quite a survivalist and taught you everything you know.
You run for as long as you can, and eventually fall to your knees exhausted. As you had hoped, there are no signs of pursuit. You take a moment and catch your breath. you realize that through all this you were still holding onto the pokeball, with a sigh you shove it into your pocket. A quick survey of your surroundings reveals that you are in a decent site for camp, level ground, some open space for a tent, and judging from the sound, a stream nearby.
"Great, I'll just set up here" It only takes you a few minutes to set up your tent, and just under half an hour to make a fire pit. At this point it was getting dark and wandering around in an unfamiliar environment isn't the best idea, especially at night, so you just crawl into your tent and go to sleep.
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