Pokemon Ether 04

Frrrrrrrikt!

Suddenly, Finn's shoulder jerked back as his body continued to move forward through the air. His satchel had gotten caught and the strap pulled him back over on himself. Another loud crack, this time followed by a rumble. He looked back at the hole to see his satchel stuck as it's cargo was too wide to fit through the gap they had made. He saw rocks starting to fall from the ceiling inside the room. Loud crashes and the sound of earth falling now banished the earlier silence. As he moved to grab it, Poppy stole in a deftly dislodged the bag dragging it through, while Ember heaved Finn away from the hole. The trio shared a momentary look before grabbing their gear and sprinting down the tunnel. It felt as though the whole mine shook for a few moments before the usual hot and humid silence resumed.

Dust filled the air as the trio shielded their faces and struggled to navigate their way through the tunnel. Soon, they escaped the dust cloud, emerging into a junction that led them back towards the lift where a few of the other contestants had gathered having felt the rumble.

A large set man with a grizzly beard approached them. "Are you all okay? What happened down there?" he said while offering his canteen to the dirt covered explorers.

Finn offered the canteen to the girls first before taking a swig himself and handing it back to the man. "Thanks." He croaked. "We were digging in the old tunnel that runs deeper than the others" he said, still trying to get the taste of dirt out of his mouth. "Ceiling just gave out. We were lucky to get out of there alive."

He noticed the girls looking at him questioningly as he left out info ago about the room.

"You're telling me." the large man said. "I told the Mine that that tunnel should have been closed off. Here, let me help you get back up top side."

The man hefted the trio's gear onto his considerable shoulders and marched them to the lift, where other contestants parted to let them through. He punched in a button for the Ground floor and the old lift slowly began to rise out of the darkness.

When they reached reception, apologies were offered and assurances made that it would never happen again and that the tunnel would be closed off to visitors in future. Finn could see that Ember was about to mention the room, and nudged her with his arm before shaking his head subtly at her. She stayed quiet and the Mine asked them to fill in some paperwork to say that they were ok.

They were ushered towards an on site shower, normally reserved for active miners and told to clean themselves up before coming back to reception. Having a warm shower for the first time in a number of days had felt even better knowing that it was washing away layers of dirt and grime. Once refreshed and redressed, the group headed out to reception where a small group of contestants had gathered now that the day's challenge time had elapsed.

Finn and Ember approached the cashier booth and pulled out the fossil from her satchel to present to the cashier.

A number of gasps erupted from behind them.

"Did you see that!" A young boy whispered.

"Did she find an Old Amber? Lucky bitch!" said some other jealous contestant.

Ember placed the orange stone down on the counter and in her sweetest voice, asked "Would you say this qualifies as a fossil for the challenge?"

The cashier was somewhat dumbstruck. She stared at the rock for more time than anyone present was comfortable with before snapping out of it and flashing a smile. "Em, yes, actually. It does. An Old Amber is exceedingly rare as far as fossils go, so finding one in such great condition as this is a rare thing indeed."

"So does that mean I win a prize?" she said animatedly.

The cashier smiled as she processed the fossil, humming a little tune as she went about her admin. A few moments later, she stood and walked away from the counter into an unseen room and returned shortly thereafter with with a large tube like container in her hands. A small, squat man followed behind her, mopping sweat from his brow. The cashier placed the tube on the counter and took a step back behind the man.

"Congratulations. As the manager of the Windy Valley Mine, it is my pleasure to present you with your prize." He placed a hand on the top of the tube and rotated it, releasing a quick hiss of air he gently lifted the metallic tube, revealing a large blue and grey egg. "I'm sure you will take good care of it. This incubator will take care of the egg until it is ready to hatch." he said as he replaced the tube over the egg and sealed it again. "The incubator will let you know when it is ready to hatch, but if you press this button, it will give you a rough idea of how soon." The man gestured to a small button on the base of the incubator before passing the egg to Ember. "We also would like to apologise unreservedly for your earlier ordeal in our tunnels. We have the strictest measures in place to avoid incidents such as this. With that in mind, the Mine would like to give you this." He pulled a rag covered item out from under the counter and placed it in front of Ember. "This is the Old Amber that you found during your dig. We would like you to keep it as a gesture from us for your ordeal. I hope it is to your liking."

"Wow, thank you. That is very kind of you." She picked up her prizes and turned to Finn and Poppy who grinned at her.

"One down, four to go!" Finn said as they went to collect their packs.

____________________________________

Windy Valley

The trio emerged from the mine to discover that the sun was just about to set behind the ridges of the Windy Valley. Darkness was setting in quickly and, while the breeze was initially welcomed by the group, having been baked in the mine for most of the day.

"I don't know about you guys, but I can't see us making much progress tonight." Poppy offered as headed towards the trail. "I think we should find somewhere to set up camp for the night. Who's with me?"

"Me!" Finn and Ember replied in unison. They laughed together as they hit the trail

"Hey! Drayton!" a voice shouted over the wind from behind them.

Finn turned at the sound of his surname. He recognised the breathless traveller and his Pinsir and sighed. "Hey Trey, took you long enough!"