Chapter 8: The Cave (2)

After a little while, they found themselves in a chamber. It was very dark and about 10 metres straight ahead, they could make out another passage that led to who knows where. The last time Mindy was here, she hadn't discovered this cavern.

Mindy's Charmander let loose a couple of Embers so they could see the place better, and they were impressed by what they saw.

The cavern was very huge. Charmander's flames barely lit up the surroundings. They couldn't see the ground below them, much less the other side.

'If we go into this cavern, we'll miss the passage and who knows when we'll make it out of here?' Mindy thought. 'Let's try to call him first.'

"Dave! Dave, are you here?" Mindy yelled, her voice echoed through the cavern. They heard the flapping of wings again, but this time it was distant.

"Ee—vee!" Eevee also yelled, looking ready to jump down into the cavern.

"Don't Eevee!" Mindy stopped the worried Pokemon. "We'll get lost if we go in there. If he were here, he would have responded to us."

"DAVE! DAVE! ARE YOU HERE?" Mindy screamed again, but there was still no response.

"He definitely would have heard if he were here. Come on guys, let's move on."

And so they carried on. The passage they were in was quite similar to the one they went through earlier, but this time it went up instead of down, making their progress much slower and leaving them much more tired than before, especially Mindy, who was carrying two backpacks.

After a long time, everyone was worn out and had lost all hope when they heard a sound coming from ahead. Mindy couldn't recognize what it was, but Eevee perked up and dashed forward, disappearing from Mindy's sight.

"Eevee! Wait!" Mindy shouted without success. Thoughts of chasing after it crossed her mind, but she was too exhausted to run. Her back hurt, and her legs felt like they may give out from exhaustion.

Mindy and Charmander hiked the steep slope for another ten minutes that seemed like hours until they finally noticed a light in the distance. Mindy

realised that they had found the way out, and both of them moved quickly toward it.

Having spent so much time in the dark, Mindy had to shield her eyes from the sun as soon as they exited the cave. When her eyes got used to the light, she was in for a big surprise.

Dave was sitting outside, leaning against a tree, with Eevee resting on his lap.

"DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I AM?" Mindy stormed in front of Dave and collapsed to the ground. Then, she took Dave's backpack off and threw it on him.

"This is yours! And make sure you don't forget it again, because this is the last time I'm carrying your stuff."

"Calm down, Mindy. I found a way out of the cave, didn't I? You should thank me," Dave said, with a smile on his face. "And I have something to show you."

He then pulled out a pokeball and threw it on the ground, releasing a Sandshrew.

"I tripped over it when I turned to call the Eevee, and we tumbled down until we reached the cavern. By the way, have you seen that place? It is amazing! There, I took advantage of the fact that it was stunned from the fall and captured it," Dave proclaimed with pride.

While Eevee and Sandshrew were chatting and getting to know each other, Mindy's face was still flushed with anger.

"Thank you? You want me to thank you for finding a way out of the tunnel? Well done, congratulations! You just led us to the wrong exit. And while you were catching your Pokemon, you forgot about Eevee. AND NOW WE'RE LOST!"

"First of all, I didn't forget Eevee. It was an accident," Dave began. "Second, the road is right there. "

He pointed to a road just up ahead of them. "And third... When I told you to thank me, I meant this."

He pulled out one more pokeball and handed it to Mindy, who gave him a puzzled look as she received it from his hand.

"Aren't you going to ask how I managed to find my way out of the cave? And how did I manage to see the Sandshrew to capture it?" Dave said, smiling at his friend.

"What do you mean?" Mindy didn't quite understand what was going on as she turned her eyes away from the pokeball to Dave.

"Open it! This is my thank you for everything you've done for me and Eevee."

Curious, the girl then opened the pokeball and from it came out a familiar orange-colored Pokemon, which resembled a lizard, but stood on two feet and had a flame at the end of its tail.

"Char—mander!"

But strangely, this wasn't her Charmander. The girl looked at hers and the one Dave had given her to make sure that they weren't the same.

When I fell into the passage, I saw this Charmander sleeping down there. So, after I captured it and Sandshrew, I used it to guide me through the passage until I found the exit. Then, I remembered that you said you would have to return your Charmander to your grandfather, so I thought this one might help you," Dave explained.

Mindy felt tears come to her eyes and this time she didn't attempt to hide it. She put away the Charmander that Dave had given her and stared at him angrily.

"You don't understand, do you? I don't want another Charmander Dave, I want my Charmander. The one who helped me and stayed with me these two months and who became my best friend. The Charmander I cook food for, the one who sleeps with me when I'm cold. How can you think of offering me another Charmander in return?"

Mindy's Charmander came over, laying on her lap and comforting her.

"I think you misunderstand, Mindy. I'm not giving you another Charmander," Dave explained.

"T-then why are you giving me this Charmander?" Mindy asked, sobbing.

"So you can give the Charmander to your grandfather and you can keep yours," Dave said, bending down and put his hand on her shoulder.

Mindy stopped crying when she heard that. She couldn't believe what Dave had just told her. She raised her head to gaze at him, her Charmander and finally the pokeball she was holding.

A smile threatened to appear on her face as realisation started to set in. Without being able to say anything else, she pulled Dave into a tight hug and broke down in tears.