Fanfiction Coltar: Dear Log

This piece is a collection of drabbles which is a short story. You don't necessarily have to have read any of my other Coltar work to be able to understand and enjoy this piece.

Summary:
The year is 1563. Alexis Xanthe, a young man in his twenties is aboard a cargo ship until it was overturned by a giant pokémon in the sea. He grabbed what supplies he could before pulling himself aboard a piece of wood from the ship's hull. It dawns on him that he is the sole survivor from the shipwreck, as he clung desperately onto the raft. His raft eventually arrived on the shores of an unknown island (later named Coltar,) inhabited by pokémon. Alexis keeps a journal, of his survival, hoping to be saved.

Reviews, comments and reactions are 100% welcomed!

Warning: This story is rated Everyone. It contains: Mild Violence, such as: non-graphic mentions of injuries, sickness and mentions of death of unnamed, unspecified characters.

These warnings are for every chapter, although they may not be present in every chapter.

Log #1​

Wednesday, 13th February 1563

Dear Log,

Every minute that passes by, I lose a little more hope. My raft, my last life, is in shambles and tatters. My friends are gone, as is that beast that took them with it. One minute, we were in port, laughing, singing, and getting drunk – but now I am all alone. I am writing this log as a coping mechanism, and a way of forcing myself to keep going throughout this miserable experience. My name is Alexis Xanthe, and I am the lone survivor of a cargo ship headed across the ocean.

Unfortunately, my supplies are meagre. I suppose that’s what happens when your vessel sinks. Regardless, it appears my raft is stranded beside a river mouth. I wonder if the river’s water will be as salty as the nearby sea. I shall check that later. My supplies are currently limited to a loaf of bread, some ship’s biscuits and a bottle of spirit. Although, when I say a loaf of bread, it is more like a piece, and the bottle of spirit has so little in it I doubt it will be worth drinking.

I am currently sitting atop my broken raft. Now and then, a creature called a pokémon will come by. For the most part, they are keeping their distance. I keep seeing the little creatures with the orange and peachy bodies and the small pincers walking side to side. Some of them are collecting shells. I am a little worried about the very big one with the very large left pincer. It is still smaller than me, but only by maybe a foot or two. I fear that if it grabs me with such a tool at its disposal, having a broken bone will be the least of my worries.

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It is starting to get dark, and I need to collect some form of firewood and find shelter. I believe there is a cave along the shore. I shall arm myself with a branch and attempt to start a fire to stay warm overnight.

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I am now in the cave. I moved my raft to the cave’s entrance and used it to block the way in. I caught a glimpse of my hair in a shallow puddle in the cave. My hair is now sandy brown instead of blond, and you can't even tell my eyes are supposed to be brown because they are bruised, red and incredibly sore. To be honest, I am surprised my clothes are in as good of a state as they area.

Unfortunately, it appears I have overestimated my skills at lighting a fire, and I have had little success. My wet clothes are now lining the inside of the cave, and I genuinely hope they dry by morning. I don’t want to get wet-sickness and become increasingly ill. I have decided to save my food for now. I shall eat every other day or at least take a bite. I am so thirsty, but drinking my spirit would be unwise. I need my wits about me.

Alexis Xanthe

 

Log #2​

Thursday, 14th February, 1563

Dear Log,

I have some fantastic news. The nearby river is not salty. It could still be unclean, but it is currently better to drink that than die of thirst.

The fire lighting problem has not been resolved yet. To make matters worse, my clothes are still drenched through and drying in the inside of the cave – which wasn’t as empty as I first thought it was. In fact, the cave was more like a small indent in the rock, filled with blue, squelchy pokémon with shells. Some of their faces were purely hideous. I felt sick from the fear of them about to nibble on me as I slept.

I suppose it doesn’t matter now. I survived the night, and that’s what matters more than anything else. I will head to the nearby woods and collect some wood, primarily sticks. I have no idea how to start a fire. I fear if I do not figure it out soon, I shall not make it.

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I suppose my luck is getting better. In the distance, I see smoke rising from the forest. It has to be civilisation! I am saved. I will trudge the woodland to reach it. However, I am a little sceptical of how safe such an undertaking could be. I see some pokémon in the forest. There is a vast array of species, many I haven’t even heard the descriptions of. There is a thin one with a yellow head covered in leaves and spindly legs. There is also a pokémon with a long brown, fiery tail. It has blue markings on its face, and it often gets into fights with similar pokémon. I do not want to be on the receiving end of an altercation between these pokémon.

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After trekking for what seemed like hours, it turns out that it was just the embers of a fire. Good news: Someone is here. Bad news: I have no idea who they are, where they went or if they are friendly or not. Even worse news: I have no idea how to get back to my things, which I foolishly left by my broken raft. However, one good thing has come out of this – I now have a fire if I can coax it back to flames, at least.

I dare not sleep. I hear the pokémon in the trees, scurrying around. I fear for my life, but I have a stick and some fire ready. Unfortunately, those with water and fire aren’t too upset by my flames; luckily, most of the pokémon seem of the grass and bug variety.

Nearby this camp is a few different types of flowers. Some seemingly have berries on. I shall try them tomorrow. Perhaps I will attempt to find the individuals who camped here before I. Alas, despite my desperate fear to stay awake I must sleep. At least he who came before was kind enough to leave their wooden stick shelter up.

Alexis Xanthe

 

Log #3​

Friday, 15th February, 1563

Dear Log,

[JUSTIFY]Today, during my hunt for food, I came across a horde… herd… pack… or something of this strange pokémon. They are red and round like an apple. I’ve never seen one before. There is one yellow one and one green one too. Although, they seem to be bullied by the big red one with the long neck. I swear I saw it spit fire or something.

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I found some pink-like berries, and I wasn’t sure about them, but I saw some of the red apple pokémon eating them, and with that, I assumed if I were to eat them, they wouldn’t be poisonous. It tasted rather sweet, but I am alive still. One of the pokémon – the little green one – was trying to reach one of these berries. It approached me fearlessly and even let out a little cry. Seeing as it was just as hungry as I, I picked one for it – mainly to see if it was poisonous at all. It lapped it up. Since then, this pokémon has been watching me from the bushes. In fact, I can see its little eyes right now.

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​

I have constructed a small structure over the top of the fire to help prevent it from being put out in rain. As I do not know how to start a fire, I will simply have to prevent it from going out. The little pokémon has gone now, probably back to its group.

Loneliness is starting to set in. I miss my friends, and I feel guilty about surviving the crash. Is this normal? I don’t know what I should feel. There is an overwhelming sense of sadness brewing in my chest. It is almost like a sinking feeling.

My water is starting to run low again. I will need to refill it soon. This time, I will leave a clearly marked trail to the river and back so I can find this small camp. I truly hope he who made it returns. I hope even more so that they are friendly.

The river is notably much further away than I first thought, and night is coming. If I am honest with myself, I am more scared now than I have been before. I wonder what monsters lurk in the dark. I am going to turn around and head back to camp. I can hear some pokémon flapping around above the trees and calling out to each other.

At one point, it went silent. That was the moment my heart stopped. Something big was out here with me. I could hear it walking around nearby. Although, I am thankful it seemed interested in something else. Perhaps I am too big for it, or maybe it was already hunting something else. Either way, I am still grateful to be here. From now on, travel by day, sleep by night. That’s the rule I’ll have to follow if I want to survive out here.[/JUSTIFY]

Alexis Xanthe

 

Log #4​

Saturday, 16th February, 1563

Dear Log,

After last night’s shenanigans, I decided to collect a large pile of sticks and create a perimeter around my little wooden shelter. As I slept, a group of large pokémon walked through my camp and stole some of my berries – after knocking the shelter I was in down. I was fearful for my life! They were grey and very muscular. I had never seen something like that before. In all honesty, they looked like some family dynamic. There were two small ones, each grey and with a small cap over its head. It looks very similar to that of the pokémon that you find near dams. They were each carrying a block of wood. The middle-sized one was carrying a small branch, waving it around as if it were a toy. Unlike the capped smaller one, this one had lumps all over its head.

While the medium-sized one was pretty intimidating, the two big ones scared me most of all. Both of them were carrying large logs, and they had a hideous red nose. It looked very much like a jester’s joke. However, it was no joke, and now I am without food and I-

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I was forced to flee the camp when a larger pokémon flew overhead. It looked like a large dragon. It had three heads and multiple wings. At least, that’s what it looked like from down here. It seemed to come from the large hills and the mountains in the distance. I would travel that way, but I fear I’d become food for such an atrocity.

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I managed to boil some water and make it safe to drink on the fire. My perimeter is very basic, and it looks like it was set up by someone who has no idea of what they are doing. A feeling I am starting to get all too used to. Every day here seems to drag on for hours, but that’s okay. I have time to do what I need to.

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I was from the city. I’ve never seen nature quite like this. This is a tangent, but I’m not that old. I'm in my early twenties, and this world is so different. The trees aren’t what I’d call tropical or standard; they are a mixture. I suppose this place, indeed, is not run by man but by monsters. I am starting to document the pokémon I have seen so that I know how many species there are.

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I should get some rest, and tomorrow, I really need to do some repairs on this shelter.

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I was unable to sleep. Every time I hear a twig on my perimeter snap, I feel as if my life is on the edge. I am exhausted, hungry, thirsty, cold, and very scared. Some may call me a coward, but how would they fare if they were in my position? I wish I had never left home.

Alexis Xanthe

 

Log #5​

Sunday, 17th February, 1563

Dear Log,

The strange pokémon came around again today. I suppose it truly has decided to follow me around. I was gathering sticks to re-set the perimeter around the campsite and all of a sudden its eyes peered around the trunk of a tree. I also found out that the apple is not its body. In fact it lives inside of the apple. That surprised me more than anything. It offered me an apple, covered in a sticky substance. I assume as a thanks for handing it that berry a few days ago. Being so hungry, I scoffed the apple in a very ungentlemanly way, but the pokémon didn’t seem to mind. In fact, it seemed more pleased than anything.

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So, myself and the apple pokémon sat by the fire for a little while and that was when I learned it was a grass type. It didn’t like the fire very much. We then went looking in search of food. It turns out that this little pokémon seems to make the berries far riper upon touching its apple shell. We split the berries of course. It is strange indeed. I have a friend in this creature. I have named it Apple.

I miss home. Even with Apple, every day out here seems harder than the last. Perhaps I am ungrateful to be alive, or perhaps I am starting to understand why my parents insisted I prayed to the god. There are no gods here.

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Apple and I wandered toward the river and gathered water. Apple got scared by the bigger pokémon, but it seemed to hop in front of me when it thought I was in danger. Glancing over the river, I swear I could see smoke from a campsite. I do not know if I dare leave my camp to investigate, or if I should risk it all to see if I can find some form of civilisation. What is currently swaying me to stay put is the distance from the fire I seem to be. It looks very far, maybe twenty miles? I am not sure if I could walk that far, let alone if Apple could hop that distance without harming its little tail. Yes, that was also a surprise. I had no idea Apple had a tail. Also, if I leave this camp, the fire will go out, and as I’ve already established, I don’t have the know-how to relight it.

I have decided to start experimenting with the berries here. Some I recognise from back home, but others seem very new to me. Of course, Apple has been very reliable at indicating which ones are worth trying, and which are not. It screws its face up when I offer it certain berries, and has been known to snatch others from my hand. I have been going with the assumption that the snatched berries are the ones to eat, and the disgusted expression ones are poisonous. Or perhaps Apple has its preferences.

Alexis Xanthe