Chapter One – Birth by Fire

The long grass whipped at their feet as Max, Simon and his Dad sprinted. The fire was hot on their backs. Max couldn't process what was happening. He just ran.

He couldn't remember whether it was his lungs or his legs that gave out first, but it wasn't until he stopped that they all finally turned around. The flaming wreck of Sable City crumbled in the distance. His mother's screams were still echoing in Max's ears. He ignored the hand that he could feel on his shoulder. She was gone. Tears flooded his vision.

People were talking but they sounded miles away. How many people had still been caught in the blast? How many of them were alive when it happened? The tongues of fire licked the night air triumphantly. They tasted their victory.

His eyes stung. Max? He let the knife slip from his fingers. Max? The blood stained blade thudded against the dirt.

'Max!'

Two hands were on him now, turning him away from the horizon. Simon's dad. Duke.

'We need to keep moving, ok?' he said, quietly.

There was a tenderness in his eyes that clashed with the urgency in his voice. Compassion verses fear.

Duke shook his shoulders. 'Max! We need to get out of here.'

Max looked around at the people who had made it. There were eight of them. On Max's right stood Claire Dowell, a girl two years above him and Simon. Max assumed that the boy standing next to her was her brother. Slightly further away stood an older guy, maybe around fifty? On his left there was a family of three. The mother cuddled her two crying daughters.

Struggling to catch his breath, the man on Max's right spoke up. 'What… the hell… just happened?'

Duke turned to him. 'Didn't you see?'

'See it?' The man spat. 'I was in bed.' He gestured to the dressing gown that hung from his overweight body.

Duke's eyes flitted to Max, then back to the man. 'There was an accident.'

'An accident?' It was the mother's turn to talk. She sounded terrified. 'Riley, the Pokemon were attacking. Attacking people. They've gone insane.'

The man – Riley – shook his head in disbelief. 'You're seeing things.'

'She's not.' Duke said, solemnly.

As the adults spoke, Simon moved to Max's side. 'Max?'

No reply.

'Max, what happened?'

Max just stared blankly forward. The teeth clamped down. She screamed. Blood arced into the air. 'She's dead Simon. Growlithe killed Mum.'

Simon's eyes stretched wide. 'But… but how?'

Again, Max simply stared. Behind them the adults started shouting.

'No Mary, those are our homes! I'm not just going to leave and let them burn.' Riley yelled.

Mary was in tears. Her daughters stood behind her, scared. 'Let the emergency services deal with it. Duke is right. We need to stay away from there, from those Pokemon, until we know it is safe.'

'And where do you suppose we go?' Riley snapped.

'My cousin has a ranch just through those woods.' She pointed away from the city at the nearby trees. 'He has more than enough room for all of us to stay the night.'

Duke nodded. 'Officer Jenny said to head to Viridian, but that ranch sounds like a better idea.'

Riley was still not convinced. 'What about any other survivors? We were on the outskirts. There are more still to come.'

'There isn't that much room, Riley.' Mary responded.

'Besides, we don't know how much of the city was effected.' Duke suggested. 'It may have just been our neighbourhood.'

'Most people are probably safe.' said Mary.

There was silence. Riley frowned and shook his head.

'I'm staying. I won't- Ah!' He flinched, kicking out with his leg. Something clung to it, biting down. Blood trickled from the wound. 'Get it off me!' he shrieked.

Duke was by his side in a moment, grabbing at the creature. Simon was right behind him. Max stared as Riley fell, limbs thrashing, disappearing into the long grass.

Mary ran to his aid but Claire and the other guy backed away, scared. Mary's girls kept their distance. The grass thrashed. Riley's yells of pain were joined by Simon. Something sparked in Max.

Moving swiftly to their aid, Max finally saw what was happening. The four of them had fallen to the ground, which was alive, writhing under them. Small creatures scurried over them, biting and scratching. Their purple fur was matted with blood. Rattata.

'Max! Help!' Simon screamed and Max dropped to his knees, pulling at the rodents that climbed across his friend.

Simon's jeans were torn and stained with his blood, but his legs held as he got to his feet. He stamped down. One of the Rattata burst under his foot. He turned ran to his father who shielded his face against three of the creatures. They bit into his forearm, their teeth slicing through his russet skin. Duke cried out in pain and slammed his arm down, trapping them against the dirt. They struggled and he pushed harder, crushing their windpipes.

'Someone get this thing off of me!' Max heard Riley call and turned to see the man on his back, scrambling to knock away the rat that was biting and scratching at his throat. Mary ran forward, swinging her bag. A dash of blood corrupted the pristine white leather and the Rattata was flung through the air into the night.

Helping his father up, Simon stamped down again but the creatures were too fast. They scurried out of reach before grouping up and leaping at him. Five of them hit him in the chest and two in his leg and he dropped to the floor, hard. Their teeth shredded his t-shirt and blood began to cover his chest. He screamed out. Duke dropped next to him, clawing at the creatures. They were too fast. Slipping through his fingers one of them circled around and ran up Duke's arm and bit at his face. He lurched backwards.

His fingers clasped around the rodent and he clung on, gripping it with both hands. Grip tight, Duke twisted. The bones crunched. The lifeless creature slumped to the floor. Duke rolled over and back up onto his knees. His face dropped as he made eye contact with his son, just in time to watch his throat get torn out of his neck.